3  .  //  .  /Si. 

Stom  f  ^e  feifitatt?  of 
(pxofmox  TJJimam  (gXtffer  (pa^^on,  ©.©.,  &&.©. 

to  t^e  &ifirar)5  of 
(Princeton  C^eofogicdf  ^eminarjj 

BV  4235  .E8  S6 

Smith,  Wilder,  1835-1891. 

Extempore  preaching 


p' 


WAR  1 1 1912 


EXTEMPORE 


PREACHING, 


BY 


WILDER  SMITH. 


HARTFORD: 

1884. 


COPYRIGHTED  BY 

BROWN  &  GROSS, 

1884. 


PRESS   OF 

TuE  Case,  Lockwoou  &  Beainard  Co., 

UAliTFORU,   CONN. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  Ret.ative  Advantages. 

II.  Preparation,  Special. 

III.  Preparation,  General. 

IV.  Arrangement. 
V.  Illustrations. 

VI.  Style. 

VII.  Memory. 

VIII.  First  Attempts. 

IX.  Delivery. 

X.  Physical  Conditions. 

XI.  Spiritual  Conditions. 

XII.  Repeating. 


I. 

RELATIVE   ADVANTAGES. 

The  question,  of  the  relative  advantages  of  written 
or  extempore  discourses,  is  of  great  practical  import- 
ance to  every  minister  of  the  gospel.  It  does  not, 
indeed,  rank  with  matters  touching  faith  and  morals; 
but  among  the  minor  considerations  affecting  the 
ministerial  career,  there  are  few  of  greater  conse- 
quence than  this. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  tlie  controversy 
between  these  two  methods  has  lasted  so  long,  and 
is  not  yet  settled.  It  emerges  in  the  very  inception 
of  our  Protestant  churches. 

Hooker,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  Polity^  speaks  con- 
temptuously of  "Sermons  without  book;  sermons 
which  spend  their  life  in  their  birth,  and  may  have 
public  audience  but  once ;  "  while  the  non-conform- 
ists eagerly  defended  them. 

The  prejudice  of  the  Scottish  Kirk  against  the  use 
of  notes  in  the  pulpit  is  well  known.  Still,  so  exact- 
ing are  the  demands  upon  the  pulpit  in  Scotland  for 
highly  intellectual  discourses,  that  the  preachers  feel 
compelled,  for  the  most  part,  to  write  their  sermons, 
and  at  much  painful  cost  commit  them  to  memor3^ 

2 


2  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

If  we  turn  to  tins  country,  it  appears  that  in  Kew 
England,  and  among  those  of  New  England  descent, 
there  has  been  a  strong  feeling  in  favor  of  written 
sermons ;  while  in  the  Presbyterian  church  south, 
and  among  the  greater  part  of  the  Methodists  and 
Baptists,  the  decided  preference  lias  been  for  an  ex- 
temporaneous style.  But  of  late  the  mutual  tolera- 
tion and  drawing  together  of  Christian  denomina- 
tions is  apparent,  not  only  in  borrowing  from  each 
other  church  music  and  liturgic  forms,  but  in  the 
style  of  preaching  as  well.  For  written  sermons  are 
occasionally  seen  in  Methodist  pulpits,  and  extem- 
pore sermons  are  by  no  means  uncommon,  among  all 
denominations,  and  before  the  most  critical  audiences 
of  Boston,  Philadelphia,  or  New  York. 

The  Rev.  Heman  Humphrey,  president  of  Am- 
herst, in  his  letters  to  a  son  in  the  ministry,  written 
in  1842,  says,  "  I  come  now  to  a  question  which  has 
of  late  occasioned  a  good  deal  of  discussion,  in  some 
parts  of  the  land,  as  to  the  comparative  advantages 
and  disadvantages  of  preaching,  with  or  without 
notes.  The  General  Assembly  of  the  Old  School 
Presbyterian  church,  as  you  know,  at  their  last  meet- 
ing in  Philadelphia,  recommended  the  dispensing 
with  the  use  of  manuscript  preparations  altogether, 
and  sent  down  the  record  to  all  the  Synods  and 
Presbyteries  of  their  connection.  What  effect  this 
advice  has  had  upon  the  large  and  very  respectable 
body  of  ministers,  to  whom  it  was  addressed,  I  am 
not  informed ;  I  presume,  however,  that  things  re- 


RELATIVE    ADVANTAGES.  6 

main  very  much  as  they  were  before."  About 
twenty  years  later,  an  attempt  was  made  to  force  a 
similar  motion  through  the  Scottish  General  Assem- 
bly, but  failed. 

Thus  the  discussion  has  continued  long  and  is  as 
far  from  settlement  as  ever.  While  the  advocates 
of  extempore  sermons  have  enjoyed,  perhaps,  the 
best  of  the  argument,  the  written  sermons  have  re- 
tained a  large  proportion  of  the  practice.  There  are, 
in  the  United  States,  a  few  eminent  extemporaneous 
preachers;  there  are  thousands  of  ministers,  of  high- 
est abilities  and  largest  usefulness,  who  read  every 
word  of  their  discourses,  from  fully-prepared  manu- 
scripts. 

There  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  latter 
method.  The  ancient  treatises  are  almost  unani- 
mous in  favor  of  writing,  as  the  best  preparation  for 
public  speech.  "  Stilus  optimus  et  praestantissimus 
dicendi  effector  ac  magister,"  said  Cicero,  "  The  pen 
is  the  most  effective  teacher  of  eloquence  "  ;  and  this 
saying  became  a  proverb  in  the  famous  Roman 
schools  of  rhetoric,  for  we  afterwards  find  Quinti- 
lian  commenting  on  it,  and  demanding,  equally  with 
Cicero,  assiduous  practice  with  the  pen.  And  yet 
neither  of  these  masters  of  ornate  and  polished  dic- 
tion would  have  ventured  to  appear  before  an  audi- 
ence with  a  manuscript  in  his  hand.  Whatever  was 
carefully  written  out  must  be  duly  memorized,  and 
delivered  as  if  impromptu,  if  they  would  satisfy  the 
nice  ears  of  a  Roman  audience. 


EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 


The  written  sermon  allows,  or  seems  to  allow, 
more  care  in  the  arrangement  of  arguments,  and  in 
the  selection  of  exact  and  felicitous  language ;  it 
demands  a  certain  amount  of  laborious  preparation  ; 
more  confidence  exists  in  the  mind  of  the  speaker, 
nor  is  the  audience,  seeing  the  manuscript,  appre- 
hensive of  failure  ;  a  sermon,  once  prepared,  will  do 
duty  several  times,  and  thns  a  store  of  digested  ma- 
terial can  be  laid  aside  for  service,  in  times  of  sick- 
ness, or  when  the  mind  is  distracted  by  other  cares ; 
the  people  have  become  so  accustomed  to  this  meth- 
od, as  not  only  to  tolerate  it,  but  in  many  sections 
of  the  country  to  be  impatient  of  any  other.  All 
these  and  many  other  arguments  favor  a  written 
style.  Especially  should  beginners,  in  the  difficult 
art  of  public  speech,  avoid  too  venturesome  essay  in 
flight  from  the  secure  perch  of  a  written  discourse  ; 
they  may  catch  a  fall,  the  memory  of  which  will 
embarrass  all  their  life.  ^  The  stern  discipline  of  the 
pen,  maintained  during  ten  or  twenty  years,  is  requi- 
site for  obtaining  that  finish  of  style  and  copiousness 
of  diction  which  render  public  speaking  a  pleasure 
to  the  hearer.  The  example  of  so  many  illustrious 
men,  who  have  been  leaders  of  the  church  for  gener- 
ations, and  have  left  their  published  discourses  as  evi- 
dence of  their  power,  is  a  testimony  not  to  be  lightly 
passed  over,  of  the  possibilities  inherent  in  this  ven- 
erable and  respectable  manner  of  preparation  for  the 
pulpit.  Written  sermons  could  not  have  obtained 
so  wide  popularity,   nor  so  long  have  maintained 


KELATIVE    ADVANTAGES.  5 

their  position,  unless  there  were  solid  reasons  to  be 
adduced  in  their  favor. 

At  the  same  time,  equally  weighty  reasons  support 
the  custom  of  extemporaneous,  or,  as  we  should  pre- 
fer to  call  them,  unwritten  sermons.  Speech  is 
natural  to  all  men,  writing  is  the  cultivated  habit  of 
a  few.  Speech  is  practiced  from  earliest  childliood, 
on  all  possible  occasions ;  writing  is  the  painful 
effort  of  secluded  hours.  The  language  of  persua- 
sion, of  passion,  of  entreaty  or  command,  of  affec- 
tion, lies  nearest  to  the  vernacular  of  common  speech. 
Those  w^ho  write  are  compelled,  if  they  would  make 
their  discourse  effective  with  the  people,  to  imitate 
as  nearly  as  possible  the  language  of  every-day  life. 
The  written  language  is  naturally  the  style  of  schol- 
ars, of  those  accustomed  to  books,  of  the  cultured  and 
refined.  It  contains  a  larger  proportion  of  the  for- 
eign elements  of  the  English  tongue,  and  more  in- 
versions of  the  sentence,  than  properly  belong  to  the 
language  native  to  men's  business  and  bosoms.  To 
avoid  this  scholastic  element,  and  bring  the  style  to 
the  requirements  of  a  popular  audience,  requires  a 
distinct  effort,  which  is  a  constant  embarrassment  to 
the  writer,  whereas  a  speaker  does  it  unconsciously. 
There  would  seem  an  intrinsic  absurdity,  were  we 
less  accustomed  to  it,  in  rising  to  address  an  assem- 
bly, with  a  manuscript  carefully  laid  upon  the  desk, 
and  emotion  a  week  old,  instead  of  uttering  the 
warm  and  immediate  promptings  of  the  heart. 

If  we  seek  the  analogy  of  other  professions,  the 

2* 


6  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

prevailing  practice  is  uniformly  in  favor  of  extem- 
pore speech.  No  lawyer  would  venture  to  address 
a  jury  from  manuscript ;  at  least,  we  have  never 
heard  of  its  being  done,  save  in  one  notable  instance. 
Even  when  the  case  is  argued  before  the  court,  and 
the  brief  has  been  carefully  written  out,  printed,  and 
put  in  the  hands  of  the  judges,  the  successful  lawyers 
assure  us  that  they  must  go  before  the  bench,  and 
argue  the  case,  in  spontaneous  speech,  in  order  to 
secure  to  their  argument  a  due  attention.  The  sen- 
ators and  members  of  Congress  write  much  and  often 
upon  any  subject  before  the  public  mind.  Long 
letters  to  their  constituents  prepare  them  to  consent 
to  the  views  of  the  leaders.  Editorials  are  written, 
for  newspapers  at  home,  or  for  the  metropolitan 
press.  Perhaps  a  speech  is  prepared,  with  much 
consumption  of  the  midnight  oil,  and,  with  expres- 
sions of  applause  duly  intermingled,  is  printed  in 
the  Congressional  Olohe.  But,  after  all  this,  if  the 
senator  should  rise  in  his  seat  and  undertake  to  read 
the  speech,  the  rapidly-thinning  benches,  or  the  as- 
siduous eiibrts  of  his  brother  senators  to  finish  their 
morning  correspondence,  would  soon  convince  him 
that  even  veteran  statesmen  prefer  an  unwritten  ad- 
dress to  however  elaborate  a  written  speech.  To  at- 
tempt the  latter  on  the  platform  of  a  political  conven- 
tion, or  in  presence  of  an  excited  popular  audience, 
would  be  such  an  absurdity,  that  probably  not  the 
most  timid  speaker  would  dare  attempt  it. 

In  times  of  revival,  when  the  fires  of  conviction, 


RELATIVE    ADVANTAGES. 


and  the  fervors  of  awakened  zeal  are  arousing  a 
slumbering  church,  the  temptation  is  strong,  in  the 
most  conservative  pulpit,  to  leave  the  sluggish  man- 
uscript at  home,  and  trust  to  the  inspiration  of  the 
hour. 

Unwritten  speech  is  more  effective,  intrinsically. 
A  given  quantity  of  thought  and  expression  will  go 
much  further,  if  it  apparently  arises  spontaneously 
from  the  occasion.  There  may  be  attained  a  fresh- 
ness of  illustration,  and  appositeness  of  tliought,  by 
the  preacher  who  is  an  adept  in  extempore  speech, 
which  are  impossible  of  achievement  by  one  who  is 
confined  to  the  reading  of  previous  preparations.  In 
the  ardor  of  delivery,  new  thoughts  come  to  the 
mind  on  wings  of  fire,  vivid  metaphors  and  similes 
arrive  in  troops,  eager  for  a  hearing.  Any  accident- 
al occurrences,  such  as  the  dimness  or  brilliance  of 
the  lamps,  the  outcries  of  a  mob,  the  departure  of  an 
aged  man,  have  been  seized  by  skillful  speakers  as 
occasions  of  eloquence.  Yet  they  certainly  could 
never  have  regarded  them  other  than  as  disagreeable 
interruptions^  had  they  been  confined  to  their  notes. 

Extempore  sermons  require,  not  indeed  less  time, 
but  less  of  vital  energy,  in  the  preparation,  than  do 
written  ones.  Accordingly,  more  energy  is  left  for 
deep  and  protracted  study.  An  indolent  man  might 
use  this  surplus  as  an  occasion  for  the  flesh,  but  such 
an  one,  if  he  used  written  discourses,  w^ould  exchange 
frequently,  or  preach  old  sermons.  There  is  a  direct- 
ness of  appeal  natural  to  unwritten  addresses,  which 


8  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

is  far  less  likely  to  be  attained,  in  the  opposite 
method.  It  can  be,  indeed,  but  as  a  rule  it  will  not. 
Fervid  and  impassioned  appeals  to  the  conscience  of 
the  hearer  are  generally  born  of  the  intense  convic- 
tions which  sway  the  preacher's  mind  at  the  close  of 
the  service.  They  come  tlien,  naturally,  indeed  inevi- 
tably. The  soul  has  burst  its  conventional  bounds, 
and  like  a  river  t.oo  full  for  its  banks,  overflows  in  a 
resistless  current  of  entreaty,  or  warning,  or  expos- 
tulation. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  argue  for  the  exclusive  use 
of  the  extemporaneous  method.  The  truth,  as  is  so 
often  the  case,  does  not  lie  here  in  the  mean,  but  in 
the  extremes.  Both  methods  have  their  advantages, 
and  will  be  cultivated  by  one,  sedulous  to  use  all  his 
pX)wers  in  the  service  of  the  Master.  For  great  and 
formal  occasions,  possibly  for  the  principal  Sunday 
service  all  through  his  life,  for  difficult  funeral  dis- 
courses, for  discussion  of  the  profoundest  themes  of 
tlie  gospel,  the  preacher  will  wisely  adhere  to  the 
time-honored  custom  of  written  discourse,  at  least  in 
the  older  communities,  and  among  the  fastidious 
audiences  of  the  larger  churches.  Before  ministerial 
associations,  or  on  other  occasions  of  critical  interest, 
it  needs  large  confidence  to  forsake  the  orderly  paths 
of  written  speech.  But  innumerable  other  occasions 
arise,  on  which  it  is  a  real  advantage  to  be  able  to 
speak  in  an  effective  and  finished  manner,  without 
previous  elaboration  of  a  manuscript.  On  the  Sun- 
day evening,  when  the  congregation  is  largely  com- 


RELATIVE    ADVANTAGES. 


posed  of  young  people,  or  of  strangers  who  have 
strayed  in  without  very  much  interest  in  religion, 
and  whose  attention  must  be  caught  by  a  livelier 
style  of  discourse;  at  prayer-meetings,  and  weekly 
lectures,  and  frequent  funerals,  for  which  no  ade- 
quate time  of  preparation  is  allowed  ;  in  the  debates 
of  conventions,  and  councils,  at  popular  gatherings 
for  temperance  or  other  reforms,  and  generally  when- 
ever the  minister  is  liable  to  be  called  upon  for  a 
"  few  remarks," — an  immense  advantage  accrues  to 
one  who  has  so  trained  himself  that  ripe  and  iinished 
speech  has  become  a  second  nature.  He  cannot  be 
caught  unawares.  His  occasional  services  will  be 
more  popular  than  his  set  discourses. 

There  is  a  reflex  influence,  seldom  appreciated, 
but  extremely  important,  in  weighing  the  relative 
advantages  of  written  or  unwritten  sermons.  That 
is,  each  style,  if  practiced  with  care,  modities  and 
perfects  the  other.  The  preacher  who  writes  habi- 
tually, with  utmost  pains  for  many  years,  will  have 
attained  a  power  of  consecutive  thought,  and  of  con- 
structing well-balanced  periods,  which  are  most  com- 
monly absent  from  the  discourse  of  speakers,  un- 
trained by  the  pen.  On  the  other  hand,  the  self-con- 
fidence felt  by  a  habitual  extempore  speaker,  his 
readiness  for  all"  emergencies,  and  power  of  thinking 
on  his  feet,  enable  him  to  read  his  written  discourses, 
with  less  of  that  rigid  confinement  to  his  manuscript, 
which  is  the  principal  defect  of  those  who  have  al- 
lowed  themselves  a  servile  adherence  to  it.      Our 


10  EXTEMPORE    PKEACHING. 

opinion  on  this  point  is  confirmed  by  the  authority 
of  the  ancient  writers.  Thus  Cicero  (de  orat.  1,  33) : 
''  He  who  comes  to  speech  from  the  custom  of  writ- 
ing, has  such  a  training,  that  when  he  speaks  with- 
out premeditation,  he  still  preserves  the  finish  of  a 
written  style.  As,  when  the  rowers  quicken  their 
pace,  and  then  stop  rowing,  the  boat  still  retains  the 
impulse  of  the  oars  and  continues  on  its  course ;  so 
in  a  long  oration,  the  extemporaneous  additions  retain 
the  style  and  force  of  those  parts  which  had  been 
previously  written."  In  like  manner  Quintilian 
(Inst.  or.  10,3):  "We  must  write,  therefore,  as 
carefully  and  as  much  as  we  can  ;  for,  as  the  ground 
by  being  dug  to  a  greater  depth  becomes  more  fitted 
for  fructifying  and  nourishing  seeds,  so  improvement 
of  the  mind,  acquired  from  more  than  mere  superfi- 
cial cultivation,  pours  forth  the  fruits  of  study  in 
richer  abundance,  and  retains  them  with  greater 
fidelity.  For,  without  this  precaution,  the  very 
faculty  of  speaking  extempore,  will  but  furnish  us 
with  empty  loquacity,  and  words  born  on  the  lips." 
Written  sermons  are,  on  the  whole,  more  concise, 
more  pungent  in  expression,  more  freighted  with 
thought,  nicer  in  discrimination,  more  delicate  in  the 
play  of  fanc}^  Extemporaneous  sermons,  of  the 
better  class,  are  marked  by  boldness  and  simplicity 
of  thought,  fervor  of  emotion,  vivid  illustration,  an 
idiomatic  and  vernacular  diction  ;  and  are  more  alive 
with  the  passions  and  interests  of  the  present  mo- 
ment.    Each  may  impart  some  of  its  valuable  qual- 


RELATIVE    ADVANTAGES.  11 

ities  to  the  other.  It  will  do  no  harm,  but  will  be  a 
mutual  benefit,  if  the  preacher  do  his  best  altern- 
ately in  either  mode.  For  freedom  and  variety,  for 
immediate  contact  with  the  people,  for  readiness  of 
resource  on  unforeseen  occasions,  for  all  the  countless 
smaller  occasions,  on  which  a  written  sermon  would 
be  an  impertinence,  he  will  assiduously  train  him- 
self to  a  ready  utterance  of  well-considered  thought 
that  need  not  shame  the  most  august  pulpit.  For 
nicety  of  chosen  words,  elegance  of  metaphor,  lucid 
arrangement  of  scripture  texts,  perspicuous  and  terse 
definition  of  doctriue,  careful  analysis  of  character, 
he  will  retire  to  his  study,  and  with  pen  in  hand  labo- 
riously correct  his  manuscript. 

There  is  much  of,  so  to  speak,  extempore  writing 
not  to  be  commended.  A  sermon,  for  example, 
must  be  prepared,  and  few  hours  remain  in  which  to 
do  it.  The  pen  travels  with  frantic  haste,  as  the 
hour  points  to  midnight  on  Saturday  ;  or  even  rushes 
along  towards  the  end  as  the  bell  is  tolling  for  ser- 
vice on  Sunday  morning.  The  discourse  hastily 
written,  uncorrected,  hardly  legible,  with  the  ink 
not  yet  dried,  and  the  leaves  in  disorder,  is  seized, 
and  tlie  belated  preacher  breathlessly  mounts  the 
pulpit  stairs,  hardly  conscious  of  what  he  has  done, 
or  what  effect  it  is  likely  to  produce.  If,  however, 
he  has  the  capacity  of  extempore  speech,  he  would 
much  prefer  to  take  a  text  and  make  a  brief 
analysis,  then  sleep  as  well  on  it  as  Webster  did  on 
his  reply  to  Hayne,  and  go  calmly  to  church,  trust- 


12  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

ing  to  his  previously  accumulated  stores  of  argument 
and  illustration.  'Not  that  the  latter  method  is  rec- 
ommended, save  on  an  emergency,  but  it  seems  pref- 
erable to  the  haste,  and  lack  of  finish,  and  almost 
irreligious  temper  of  the  former.  The  habit  of  care- 
ful writing  induces  a  habit  of  adequate  preparation. 
The  faculty  of  ready  speech  supersedes  the  necessity 
of  unkempt  and  hasty  v^^riting.  Each  style  has  thus 
a  powerful  restraining  influence  upon  the  other,  likely 
to  make  both  more  perfect  than  either  alone  would 
be. 

There  are  many  popular  anecdotes  afloat  which 
show  a  keen  appreciation  on  the  part  of  the  people 
of  the  infelicities  attending  the  exclusive  use  of  writ- 
ten sermons.  The  numberless  stories  of  preachers, 
who  have  left  the  sermon  at  home,  or  have  brought 
the  wrong  one,  or  have  allowed  "  thirdly  "  to  fly  out  of 
the  window,  or  dropped  the  paper  as  Irving  did  in  one 
of  his  earlier  discourses,  or  have  lost  the  end  of  the 
sentence,  or  who  have  written  in  appropriate  places  to 
weep  here  and  pause  there,  indicate  how  close  to 
absurdity  lies  the  venerable  tradition  of  written  dis- 
courses. Without  doubt  the  people  at  large  are 
more  taken  with  even  a  tolerable  measure  of  success 
in  extempore  speaking  than  with  the  ablest  addresses 
from  a  manuscript.  It  is  partly  because  they  better 
appreciate  the  inherent  difliculties  of  speech,  partly 
because  they  enjoy  that  to  which  it  is  easier  to  listen. 

It  is  true  that  the  extemporaneous  method  has  its 
dangers  also,  perhaps  even  greater  ones.     For  a  safe 


RELATIVE    ADVANTAGES.  13 

mediocrity  conimend  iis  to  a  manuscript.  There 
is  something  in  it  at  any  rate,  while  extempore 
sermons  liave  been  preached  wliich  contained 
nothing  but  the  fatal  facility  of  empty  phrases. 
A  halting  speaker,  who  hesitates  for  the  next 
word,  requires  frequent  correction  of  his  sen- 
tences, and  leaves  many  of  them  in  ungrammatical 
confusion ;  a  verbose  speaker,  uttering  grandilo- 
quent words  in  a  lavish  flow,  as  if  the  flood-gates  of 
speech  had  been  opened  and  could  never  be  shut ; 
an  inaccurate  speaker,  never  sure  of  his  facts,  or 
dates,  or  scriptural  quotations;  an  illogical  speaker, 
forgetful  of  protasis  and  apodosis,  of  undistributed 
middle,  and  who  is  impaled,  so  to  speak,  on  the  horns 
of  his  own  dilemmas  ;  a  speaker,  whose  thoughts  are 
rambling,  or  disconnected,  or  insignificant — and  all 
these  are  patent  faults  of  the  extemporaneous  style 
— tempt  a  cultivated  hearer  to  sigh  for  the  modest 
security  of  a  manuscript.  He  who  would  succeed 
in  this  high  and  diflicult  art  must  contentedl}^  brave 
these  dangers,  and  many  more,  must  incur  the  appre- 
hension of  listening  friends,  and  the  cold  criticism  of 
enemies,  the  mortification  of  frequent  failures,  the 
distress  of  having  done  less  than  his  best. 

Is  it,  then,  worth  while  to  attempt  the  cultivation 
of  an  extemporaneous  style  of  sermonizing?  Has 
it  advantages  which  compensate  for  all  its  difficulties 
and  dangers  ?  We  answer,  unhesitatingly,  yes.  Not 
that  it  should  supersede  the  written  sermon,  nor,  per- 
haps, in  the  older  churches  rank  equally  with  it ;  but 


14  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

on  a  great  variety  of  occasions  it  is  a  most  useful 
capacity.  All  ministers  must  speak  extemporane- 
ously at  least  one-third  of  the  time.  Our  design 
will  be  accomplished,  if  we  can  induce  the  careful 
maintenance  even  of  that  proportion.  Moreover, 
there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  among  those  who 
are  familiar  with  the  effects  of  preaching,  that  while 
the  learned  and  cultivated  prefer  on  the  whole  a 
written  style,  it  is  far  otherwise  with  the  vast  masses 
who  most  need  the  gospel.  As  a  rule,  the  latter  are 
attracted  only  by  speech,  which  is  or  wdiich  appears 
to  be  extemporaneous.  They  delight  in  a  ready  and 
forcible  address,  tilled  with  practical  thoughts,  and 
with  illustrations  taken  from  common  life.  If  it  be 
our  object,  not  merely  to  delight  the  cultured  few, 
but  to  impress,  convince,  and  benefit  the  unlettered 
many,  doubtless  no  furnishing  is  more  requisite  than 
the  faculty  of  extempore  speech.  Especially  is  it 
true,  that  the  attenuated  audiences  of  Sunday  even- 
ing can  only  be  retained  and  increased,  if  at  all,  by  a 
nevv'  and  vigorous  style  of  popular  preaching.  Some 
clergymen  have  tried  to  attain  this  end,  by  attractive 
music,  and  in  the  larger  cities  it  cannot  be  dispensed 
with.  But  this  will  not  long  avail  to  draw  and  in- 
terest the  people,  unless  the  sermon  be  of  that  simple 
structure,  homely  and  penetrating  diction,  apt  meta- 
phor, and  telling  appeal,  which  are  the  most  natural 
fruit  of  the  extemporaneous  method.  And  among 
the  newer  churches,  especially  in  the  West,  there  is 
incessant  demand  for  this  popularizing  of  pulpit  dis- 


RELATIVE    ADVANTAGES.  15 

course,  on  Sunday  morning  as  well  as  evening.  The 
people  not  only  listen  with  impatience,  they  will  not 
come  a  second  time  to  hear  a  preacher  who  seems  to 
them  dull  or  uninteresting.  The  graduate  of  our  sem- 
inaries who  can  only  read  his  sermons,  however  excel- 
lent, will,  in  the  newer  states,  be  often  mortified  to 
find  himself  delivering  his  beaten  oil  to  empty  pews, 
while  some  incoherent  ranter  across  the  way  has 
drawn  a  crowd,  and,  for  the  time  being,  reyolutionized 
the  town.  It  is  not  that  the  people  admire  ignor- 
ance or  incoherence.  But  they  do  admire,  and  al- 
Avays  throng  to  hear,  facile  and  fluent  speech  upon 
whatever  subject. 

Preaching  the  gospel  is  a  diftieult  art,  even  for 
those  who  possess  every  advantage.  Any  contribu- 
tion, however  humble,  which  promises  assistance  in 
it,  will  not  be  disregarded  by  the  diligent  student. 
The  recommendations  made  in  the  following  chap- 
ters have,  at  least,  the  merit  of  having  been  tested  by 
actual  use,  and  as  such  are  proposed  with  some 
confidence. 


II. 

PREP  AEATION— SPECIAL. 

Before  proceeding  further  with  the  discussion  it 
is  necessary  to  prevent  misconception  by  defining 
what  is  meant  by  an  extemporaneous  style  of  preach- 
ing. The  remark  of  Dr.  Emmons,  that  "  the  chief 
requisites  of  an  extemporaneous  preacher  are  ignor- 
ance, impudence,  and  presumption,"  could  only  have 
been  called  forth  by  harangues  of  a  very  different 
quality  from  anything  recommended  in  this  volume. 
The  same  caustic  divine  is  quoted  by  Dr.  Smalley 
as  saying :  "  It  is  a  great  blessing  to  be  able  to  talk 
half  an  hour  about  nothing.  The  great  body  of 
extempore  preachers  are  p?-o  tempore  preachers." 
There  is  thus  an  ambiguity  in  the  word  "extem- 
pore," which  allows  much  witty  animadversion.  An 
extempore  sermon,  "  from  the  time,"  may  mean  a 
discourse,  whose  suljject,  thoughts,  and  arrangement, 
as  w^ell  as  language,  arise  from  the  promptings  of  the 
moment;  or,  it  may  mean,  one  in  which  all  the 
preparation  has  been  made  that  is  possible,  save 
that  it  has  not  been  spoken  as  written,  sentence  by 
sentence.  Dr.  Sliedd  in  his  Homiktics  endeavors 
to  define  this  method,  by  saying  that  ''extempore," 
in  this  connection,  means,  not  from  the  present  time, 


PREPAKATION, SPECIAL.  17 

but  from  all  time.  The  extemporaneous  preacher, 
lie  says,  speaks  from  all  his  past  experience,  using 
the  accumulated  thought  and  knowledge  of  all  his 
former  study.  But,  as  Dr.  Shedd  very  properly  adds, 
this  is  equally  true  of  a  written  sermon ;  for,  if  it  be 
a  good  one,  it  will  be  an  expression  of  the  writer's 
whole  previous  life.  There  is  a  current  anecdote, 
that  when  a  celebrated  divine  had  preached  a  sermon 
of  unusual  ability,  a  friend  asked  him,  "Doctor,  how 
long  did  it  take  you  to  write  that  sermon  ? "  "  Forty 
years,"  was  'the  prompt  reply.  All  the  treasures  of 
his  ripe  experience  in  the  world,  all  the  wide  reading 
of  many  yeaj-s,  the  trained  skill  of  innumerable  ser- 
mons written  and  delivered  before,  had  conspired  to 
the  perfection  of  that  one  discourse.  So  it  will  not 
sufficiently  define  an  extempore  sermon  to  say  that 
it  is  one  which  draws  upon  all  the  past  training  of 
the  speaker  for  its  eifectiveness ;  for  that  is  equally 
true  of  a  thoroughly-prepared  manuscript. 

An  extemporaneous  sermon,  then,  is  one  on 
which  all  possible  labor  may  have  been  previously 
expended,  but  which  relies  upon  the  occasion  for  the 
language  in  which  it  is  expressed.  It  may  even 
happen  that  it  shall  have  been  completel}^  written 
out,  once  and  again,  for  there  are  extempore  preachers 
who  spare  no  pains;  but  the  manuscript  is  left  at 
home  and  its  words  are  allowed  to  drop  from  the 
memory.  This  latter  is  recommended  by  Dr.  John 
Hall  in  his  Yale  lectures  on  preaching,  as  his  chosen 
method  of  preparation  for  the  pulpit.     It  is  a  very 

3* 


EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 


admirable  one,  and  ranks  among  tlie  best  modes  of 
preparing  a  finished  extemporaneous  discourse.     - 

It  may  be  asked,  here,  if  the  words  were  forgotten, 
what  use  in  writing  them  ?  Or,  if  the  discourse  has 
once  been  written,  wliy  not  read  it?  To  the  first 
question  we  reply,  it  is  not  possible  to  prepare  too 
carefully;  to  the  second,  that  a  new  and  electric 
quality  is  added  to  extempore  speech,  which  is  seldom 
compassed  by  reading  from  a  manuscript.  Gener- 
ally, however,  the  written  notes  will  be  ample,  if  they 
embrace  about  one-fourth  the  words  of  a  sermon. 
The  proposition  and  definitions  should  be  written 
in  full,  with  extreme  care.  Indeed,  it  is  advisable 
to  write  and  re-write  them  several  times  over,  in 
order  to  secure  clearness,  compactness,  and  brevity. 
Next,  the  divisions  of  the  subject  and  its  logical 
connections  must  be  written  in  full,  that  the  chain 
of  reasoning  may  be  accurately  linked,  in  due 
sequence.  The  skeleton  of  the  sermon  having  been 
thus  prepared,  it  will  sufiice  to  indicate  illustrations, 
historical  instances,  or  scriptural  quotations,  by  a 
single  word  that  recalls  them  to  the  memory.  When 
we  reflect  Jiow  large  a  proportion  of  any  discourse 
is  taken  up  by  these  last,  we  shall  see  that  ample 
room  is  allowed  in  our  estimate  of  one-fourth  the 
words,  for  a  very  complete  statement  of  all  the 
thoughts  that  are  new  and  peculiar  to  it.  In  fact, 
it  will  be  a  sermon  of  unusual  originality,  if  one- 
fourth  of  it  is  so  novel  as  to  recpiire  a  full  develop- 
ment in  writing  in  order  to  unfold  it  clearly  to  the 
mind  of  the  speaker. 


PREPARATION, SPECIAL.  19 

Perliaps  it  is  a  subject  wliicli  he  has  treated  many 
times,  as,  for  instance,  tlie  Atonement.  All  the 
principal  theories  that  have  striven  to  elncidate  it 
are  familiar  to  him.  He  has  often  meditated  the 
scripture  texts  that  hear  most  directly  npon  it. 
l^nmberless  ilhistrations  have  crowded  his  mind 
relative  to  every  shade  of  the  subject.  Its  magnitude, 
mystery,  grandeur,  have  held  him  in  awe.  Its 
unspeakable  benefits  to  humanity  have  frequently 
called  forth  his  enthusiasm,  and  have  been  the  basis 
of  many  an  appeal  to  his  hearers.  All  that  he  can 
do,  therefore,  in  any  new  sermon  on  the  Atonement, 
is  to  select  some  phase  of  the  great  theme,  and 
dwell  upon  it  for  the  edification  of  the  audience.  The 
special  features  of  the  discourse  will  properly  be  fully 
delineated  in  his  brief,  while  all  that  is  of  a  more 
general  nature,  and  that  would  belong  equally  to 
many  other  sermons  on  the  same  subject,  is  suffi- 
ciently indicated  by  catch-words. 

It  will  be  easily  inferred,  from  what  has  been  said, 
that  an  extempore  sermon  demands  as  much  pre- 
vious effort  and  preparation,  as  a  written  one.  If 
there  be  any  difference,  the  former  requires  a  greater 
diligence  and  more  thorough  study.  The  niistake 
of  many,  who  have  tried  this  method  and  failed  in 
it,  was  in  supp)osing  that  something  good  could  be 
obtained  without  labor.  But  emphatically  in  ex- 
tempore preaching,  from  nothing,  nothing  comes. 
A  hastily-chosen  subject,  a  few  disjointed  thoughts, 
vague  remembrance  of   illustrative  facts,  will   not 


20  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

satisfy  any  one,  least  of  all  tlie  preacher  himself. 
On  the  other  hand,  no  toil  is  more  fruitful  than  that 
bestowed  on  the  unwritten  sermons  of  the  earlier 
years  of  our  ministry.  It  not  only  improves  tlie 
given  discourse,  it  secures  a  large  stock  of  material 
for  future  use. 

When  the  skeleton  has  been  carefully  written  out, 
the  next  thing  in  order  is  what  the  old  writers  call 
"  meditation  "  of  tlie  subject.  Each  head  and  sub- 
division will  be  taken  in  its  order,  and  made  the 
topic  of  protracted  study.  All  the  books  in  the 
preacher's  library,  that  tlirow  any  light  upon  them, 
will  be  examined  afresh.  Encyclopedias  will  be  ran- 
sacked to  give  historical  references  their  required 
accuracy.  If  any  proposed  illustration  is  drawn  from 
the  sciences,  the  proper  treatise  will  be  consulted,  in 
order  to  secure  absolute  correctness.  For,  nothing  is 
forgiven  the  extemporaneous  preacher.  If  he  were 
reading  from  a  manuscript,  the  audience  might  take 
for  granted,  that  lie  had  studied  his  subject,  and 
might  allow  his  statements  to  pass  without  critical 
examination.  But  they  are  thorouglily  alert  to 
watch  for  blemislies  in  an  extempore  sermon,  at  least 
until  the  preacher  has  perfectly  won  their  confidence, 
and  every  assertion  will  be  challenged,  his  facts  ques- 
tioned, his  dates  doubted,  his  very  pronunciation  dis- 
puted. He  need  not  shrink  from  this  ordeal.  He 
has  had  a  liberal  education.  He  has  the  week  in 
which  to  prepare  the  special  theme.  No  need  of 
saying  anything  he  is  not  sure  of,  so  long  as  there 


PREPAEATION, SPECIAL.  21 

are  other  things,  that  may  be  spoken  to  edification. 
It  is  as  inexcusable  to  make  mistakes  of  fact,  or  mis- 
statements of  doctrine,  as  it  would  be  for  a  teacher 
before  the  class  to  be  ill-prepared  on  the  lesson. 

It  is  a  good  plan,  also,  to  meditate  the  subdivisions 
of  a  discourse  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  is  actu- 
ally required  for  the  sermon  in  hand,  and  to  pursue 
the  thought  into  all  its  ramifications.  Even  though 
it  may  not  be  needed,  or  used,  a  sense  of  power  is 
acquired  in  familiarity  with  the  subject,  and  ability 
to  speak  on  it  to  any  extent.  It  is  as  if  one  were 
appointed  to  lead  a  party  through  the  forest,  and 
should,  in  order  to  qualify  himself  for  the  task,  first 
go  through  the  forest  in  every  direction,  and  become 
perfectly  familiar  with  it.  He  will  not  take  the 
party  over  all  the  paths,  in  which  he  himself  has 
traveled  ;  one  patli  is  enough.  But  he  can  more 
easily  select  the  best"  path,  and  feels  secure  against 
losing  his  way,  if  he  knows  the  forest  from  begin- 
ning to  end.  A  new  subject  is  like  a  virgin  forest. 
The  preacher  at  first  ^timidly  blazes  a  road  through 
it.  But  after  many  days  of  study  and  meditation, 
he  knows  it  thoroughly,  and  can  begin  anywhere, 
and  go  through  it  in  any  direction.  This  is  a  most 
important  qualification,  for  taking  his  audience  along 
with  him.  They  discover,  very  soon,  that  his  most 
accidental  words  are  the  fruit  of  long  consideration. 
He  evidently  knows  more  about  it  than  they  do,  and 
they  willingly  follow  a  competent  leader.  An  occas- 
ional blemish  of  language,  or  infelicity  of  expression, 


22  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

will  not  be  noticed,  but  there  is  no  excuse  for  lack  of 
familiarity  with  the  thoughts  cognate  to.  the  theme. 
It  was  the  preachers  business  to  know  them.  If  he 
did  not,  he  should  have  left  the  subject  for  the  pres- . 
ent,  and  have  disconrsed  upon  something  he  did 
know. 

If  we  analyze  Robert  Hall's  tremendous  sermon 
on  "  Modern  Infidelity  considered  with  reference  to 
its  influence  on  society,"  which  the  author  assures  us 
was  not  committed  to  paper  until  after  it  was  deliv- 
ered, as  he  was  not  in  the  habit  of  writing  his  ser- 
mons ;  we  are  struck,  not  only  by  the  majesty  of  the 
thought  and  the  splendor  of  the  diction,  but  by  the 
evident  familiarity  of  the  speaker  with  every  phase  of 
infidelity,  which  he  had  contemplated  in  all  its  ghastly 
details,  before  uttering  his  terrible  arraignment  of 
the  principles  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  the  then 
fashionable  skepticism.  This  appears  both  from  the 
notes  appended  to  the  discourse,  and  from  the  very 
structure  of  its  magnificent  periods.  It  was  the  re- 
sult of  intense  and  protracted  thought  upon  all  parts 
of  the  subject.  As  all  minds  were  then  filled  with 
apprehension  on  account  of  the  sanguinary  results 
•of  the  new  philosophy,  it  was  less  difficult  to  pre- 
pare, or  to  listen  to,  such  a  virile  discourse,  than  it 
would  be  now,  even  supposing  the  preacher  to  have 
the  abilities  of  Robert  Hall,  which  certainly  have 
not  been  ofteii  matched  in  the  history  of  oratory. 
But  the  point,  to  which  attention  is  directed,  is  the 
necessity  of  long-continued,  thorough,  and  detailed 


PREPARATION, SPECIAL.  23 

study  of  the  subject,  before  one  can  speak  upon  it 
witli  any  degree  of  power. 

The  "  meditation  "  does  not  exhaust  the  labor  of 
preparation  required  by  an  extempore  sermon  of 
the  first  class.  In  order  to  acquire  flexibility  of  lan- 
guage, and  readiness  of  expression,  it  is  necessary  to 
'(go  over  the  whole  mentally,  and  state  fully  in  as  fin- 
lished  diction  as  we  are  capable  of,  the  proposed  dis- 
•course.  This  would  better  be  done  at  least  three, 
and  the  writer  has  often  done  it  six  times,  before 
feeling  satisfied  that  due  preparation  had  been  made. 
1*^0  attempt  to  retain  the  same  words  each  time  is 
recommended.  Indeed,  it  is  better  not  to  have  the 
same  expressions.  If  the  mind  is  in  a  fertile  condi- 
tion, the  thoughts  will  easily  clothe  themselves  in 
suitable  language;  and  the  fact  of  their  having  been 
stated  in  a  variety  of  ways  before-hand  will  conduce 
to  affluence  in  the  presence  of  the  people.  One 
must  be  very  much  embarrassed  to  fail  in  uttering 
a  thought  that  has  been  formulated  already  several 
times  in  the  mind.  The  ideas  of  the  sermon  can 
also  be  in  this  way  set  forth  mentally,  in  several 
different  styles,  plain,  forcible,  ornamental,  or  other- 
wise, so  that  a  particular  part  can  be  afterwards 
adapted  to  the  moods  of  the  audience ;  or  the  whole 
remodeled  in  character,  should  the  congregation  be, 
as  it  often  is,  difi:erent  from  what  w^as  anticipated. 
It  may  chance  that,  on  a  rainy  day,  the  audience  is 
principally  composed  of  men,  who  appreciate  a  solid 
discourse  full  of   argument  and  plainly  expressed. 


24  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

Or  it  may  happen  that,  on  a  line  da}^  there  is  pre- 
sent an  unusually  large  number  of  children  and 
young  people.  In  such  a  case,  the  speaker  is  for- 
tunate, who  has  in  reserve  ample  stores  of  illustra- 
tion, for  engaging  their  attention,  and  fixing  the  ser- 
mon in  their  memory.  A  speaker  who  is  confined 
to  any  one  set  of  words,  or  any  given  style,  has 
greatly  diminished  his  power. 

A  caution  may  properly  be  interposed  at  this 
point  not  to  bestow  a  disproportionate  amount  of 
effort  upon  the  first  half  of  the  discourse.  The 
writer  has  listened  to  preachers  who  began  well,  but 
failed  in  the  conclusion  ;  their  exordium  was  senten- 
tious and  directly  in  the  line  of  the  subject ;  the 
thought  was  well  laid  out  and  effectively  developed ; 
but  its  further  illustration  was  languid,  and  its  appli- 
cations of  a  very  vague  and  general  sort.  Such  a 
sermon  might  be  compared  to  a  stream  starting  in 
the  mountains,  vigorous  and  clear,  but  afterwards 
grown  turbid  and  lost  in  the  sands.  The  remedy 
for  this  is  to  give,  in  the  preparation,  as  much  atten- 
tion to  the  close  as  to  the  commencement.  As  the 
mind  is  apt  to  flag  in  meditating  an  entire  subject, 
it  is  well  to  begin  sometimes  at  the  middle  and  pro- 
ceed to  the  end,  or  even  to  give  an  entire  forenoon 
to  the  applications  and  termination  of  the  discourse. 
Thus  a  due  proportion  will  be  observed  in  the  parts 
of  it,  and  the  commencement  will  not  be  unduly 
protracted. 

The  sermon  liaving  been  properly  meditated  and 


PREPARATION, SPECIAL,  25 

suitably  ex}3ressed,  next  in  order  arises  tlie  necessity 
of  fixing  in  the  memory  those  features  of  it  that  the 
preacher  wishes  to  have  obvious  to  liis  recollection. 
Particular  precepts  for  assisting  the  memory  will  be 
given  in  a  subsequent  chapter.  Our  object  at  this 
time  is  merely  to  show  how  much  and  what  parts  of 
the  sermon  must  be  retained.  And  in  the  first  place, 
we  should  say,  make  no  attempt  to  remember  words. 
They  are  the  most  fleeting  of  things.  Their  evanes- 
cence is  like  an  airy  mist,  which  disapipears  in  the 
grasp.  Moreover,  a  subject  duly  meditated,  as  was 
long  ago  observed  by  the  poet  Horace,  will  find  no 
lack  of  words  in  which  to  express  its  thought.  In  like 
manner,  Cicero  remarks  that  "  copiousness  of  matter 
produces  copiousness  of  language."  I^or  is  it  essen- 
tial to  remember  all  the  steps  of  the  argument  in 
detail.  If  they  are  logically  connected,  and  flow 
naturally  out  of  the  theme,  they  will  recur  to  the 
mind  of  themselves  at  the  pro]  )er  time.  The  things 
which  are  essential  to  be  remembered  are  the  text, 
the  main  proposition  derived  from  it,  the  principal 
subdivisions  and  the  chief  illustrations.  There 
ought,  also,  to  be  a  clearly-defined  object  before  the 
speaker  of  what  he  wishes  to  accomplish  b}^  the  dis- 
course. To  aim  at  notliing  and  hit  it,  ig  the  infeli- 
city of  many  unwritten,  as  of  written  sermons. 
These  few  points  should  be  gone  over  so  often  as  to 
become  a  part  of  our  mental  organization  for  the 
time  being.  They  can  be  so  vividly  impressed  upon 
the  mind,  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  forget  tliem. 


26  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

It  will  conduce  to  easy  recollection  of  the  outline, 
if  it  is  based  upon  a  textual  division,  or  arises  natur- 
ally from  the  thought  of  the  chapter.  Then  each 
clause  of  the  verse,  or  tlie  verses  of  the  context,  of 
themselves  suggest  tlie  proposed  treatment.  No  bet- 
ter illustration  of  what  is  here  meant  can  be  given 
than  is  contained  in  the  sermons  of  Rev.  F.  W. 
Robertson.  They  are  among  the  noblest  discourses 
that  have  been  published  during  the  century,  and 
are  pertinent  to  our  present  purpose,  because,  al- 
thougli  thoroughly  prepared,  they  were  not  written 
out  nntil  the  evening  after  their  delivery.  The 
author  reported  them  for  a  friend,  w^ith  no  thought 
of  publication.  These  sermons  are  nearly  all  either 
textual,  being  based  upon  the  natural  divisions  of 
the  text ;  or  they  follow  and  elucidate  the  thoughts 
of  an  entire  cliapter,  as  in  the  celebrated  lectures  on 
the  Corinthians.  Doubtless  tlie  preacher's  memory 
'was  largely  aided  by  the  naturalness  of  his  divisions. 
The  thought,  though  far  from  commonplace,  was 
obvious  to  the  mind,  which  had  once  developed  it 
from  the  text.  Indeed,  the  connection  is  so  perfect 
that  it  is  hard  for  even  a  casual  reader  to  forget  the 
striking  ideas  that,  under  his  magic  touch,  seem  to 
spring  from  the  text  of  their  own  accord. 

There  is*  one  danger  in  becoming  familiar  with 
these  sermons  that,  it  is  so  easy  to  remember  their 
outlines  as  to  tempt  the  preacher  to  reproduce  them 
in  his  own  discourses  :  which  is  a  further  proof  of 
the  ease  with  which  a  properly-developed  outline  is 


PREPARATION, — SPECIAL.  27 

carried  in  the  mind,  and  is  a  cogent  encouragement, 
to  tlie  beginner,  that  he  need  not  apprehend  a  fail- 
ure of  memory,  if  only  the  outline  is  a  clear,  and 
logical  one. 

In  the  appendix  to  Robertson's  life  are  given  the 
notes  of  two  lectures  on  Genesis,  which  are  worth 
studying  as  an  illustration  of  his  method  of  prepar- 
ing for  the  pulpit.  They  were  written  on  the  backs 
of  old  letters,  pai'tly  in  ink, 'partly  in  pencil,  and 
were  evidently  carried  in  his  pocket  and  enriched 
by  the  thoughts  that  occurred  to  him  in  his  rambles. 
These  were  not  taken  into  the  pulpit,  but  an  abstract 
of  them  was  jotted  down,  containing  merely  the 
heads  of  the  discourse,  and  a  few  leading  thoughts 
under  each  ;  and  even  this  was  dropped  out  of  his 
hand  as  soon  as  he  had  fairly  begun  his  sermon. 
The  notes  are  ver^^  full,  covering  two  or  three  closely- 
printed  pages.  They  embrace  every  idea  and  shade 
of  an  idea,  the  scriptural  quotations,  and  several  ap- 
plications. If  the  smaller  connecting  words  should 
be  supplied,  they  would  probably  constitute  a  toler- 
ably full  report  of  the  sermon  as  it  was  finally 
preached. 

Dr.  R.  S.  Storrs  delivered  in  1875  three  fascinat- 
ing lectures,  before  the  Union  Theological  Seminary 
of  New  York,  which  have  since  been  published, 
under  the  title  "Preaching  without  Notes."  In 
them  he  gives,  by  implication,  his  own  method  of 
preparing  extempore  sermons.  After  preparing  the 
plan,  which  he  says  should  be  "  simple,  obvious, 
natural,    and    clearly-articulated   in    its   parts,"    he 


28  EXTEMPORE    PKEACHING. 

would  think  the  subject  carefully  through,  making  a 
brief  memorandum  of  such  passages  in  literature, 
historical  examples,  and  scenes  in  nature,  as  may  be 
suggested  to  the  mind.  On  a  reperusal  of  the  notes, 
on  Saturday  evening,  other  thoughts  will  occur, 
which  may  also  be  noted  down,  while  the  former 
notes  are  reviewed.  In  preaching,  he  would  only 
dwell  upon  those  parts  of  the  outline  which  present 
themselves  obviously  to  the  memory,  as  a  successful 
speech  requires  that  tlierecollective  faculties  be  held 

i  in  abeyance  so  that  the  "  spontaneous,  suggestive, 
creative  powers  may  have  continual  and  unhindered 
play." 

In  contrast  with  the  methods  already  described, 
it  is  the  advice  of  some  of  the  ablest  speakers  to 
prepare  the  discourse  without  committing  a  single 

^  word  to  paper.  This,  as  we  have  been  informed, 
was  the  method  suggested  by  a  distinguished  states- 
man to  one  of  the  ablest  living  American  preachers, 
He  said  that,  in  his  opinion,  the  best  way  of  prepar- 
ing sermons,  was  to  compose  them  in  the  mind, 
fully  and  perfectly,  then  preach  tliem,  and  after- 
wards to  write  out  and  correct  them,  if  they  are 
to  be  preserved.  Judging  by  the  results,  in  this  par- 
ticular instance,  this  must  be  an  excellent  method  of 
preparation ;  but  it  requires  more  maturity  of  mind, 
a  more  finished  style,  riper  scholarship,  than  can  be 
usually  predicated  of  beginners.  To  conceive  the 
discourse  as  a  whole,  separate  it  into  its  component 
parts,  keep  them  distinct  from  each  other,  and  ex- 
press them  elegantly,  without  even  the  simplest  out- 


PREPARATION, SPECIAL.  29 

line  on  paper,  as  a  string  to  liang  tlie  pearls  npon, 
is  a  mental  effort  somewhat  too  severe,  until  years 
of  discipline  have  thoroughly  trained  the  intellectual 
faculties.  Moreover,  few  preachers,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
would  have  the  resolution  to  sit  down  deliberately 
on  Monday,  and  write  out  the  sermons  of  the  pre- 
vious day.  Mondays  are  usually  days  of  discour- 
agement. The  reaction  from  severe  work  has  set 
in,  and  the  mind  woukl  much  better  be  relaxed  and 
suffered  to  lie  fallow  for  a  day.  Unless,  however, 
the  sermons  are  w^ritten  out  with  some  degree  of  full- 
ness, they  will  very  soon  pass  from  the  memory,  and 
become  as  faded  and  as  hard  to  restore  as  the  first  want- 
ing on  a  palimpsest.  It  seems  to  us,  therefore,  that 
this  method,  although  an  available  one,  is  liable  to 
very  serious  disadvantages,  in  practical  use. 

It  may  be  reasonably  objected  that  any  of  the 
modes  of  preparation  hitherto' described,  ranging  as 
they  do,  all  the  way  from  a  completed  manuscript 
to  a  discourse  fully  elaborated  in  the  mind,  leave 
very  little  that  is  of  an  extemporaneous  nature  in 
the  sermon  as  finally  spoken.  This  objection  is  well 
taken.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  writer  prefers  to 
call  them  "  unwritten,"  rather  than  extempore  ser- 
mons. But  it  seemed  best  to  retain  the  title  under 
which  they  are  popularly  mentioned.  A  weightier 
objection  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  amount  of  time  and 
effort  required  for  their  elaboration,  w^ould  seem  to 
be  better  expended,  and  witli  more  lasting  results, 
upon  a  manuscript.  But  no  one,  wlio  really  desires 
to  succeed  in  the  extemporaneous  style,  will  begrudge 

4* 


30  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

any  effort,  however  costly,  that  can  secure  that  re- 
sult. He  is  willing  to  train  himself,  at  least,  as  care- 
fully as  the  organist  who  leads  his  choir ; .  and  the 
latter  must  practice  for  years  before  he  can  venture 
upon  the  simplest  tune  before  a  great  congregation. 
But,  as  the  organist,  having  once  learned,  with  infi- 
nite patience,  the  art  of  playing,  can  easily  play 
afterwards  any  tune,  or  improvise  to  the  delight  of 
cultivated  audiences  ;  so  the  pains  required  by  early 
efforts  at  extemporaneous  preaching  have  their  re- 
ward in  after  years.  Each  sermon  well  studied 
makes  the  subsequent  sermon  more  easy.  Treasures 
of  language,  information  and  illustration,  are  hidden 
away  in  the  mind.  Innumerable  topics  of  thought 
have  been  made  familiar.  Confidence  is  gradually 
attained,  which  enables  the  speaker  to  stand  without 
trepidation  before  the  largest  assembly.  The  mem- 
ory becomes  so  trained  that  one  reading  of  the 
brief  will  fix  it  indelibly  in  all  its  parts.  And  after 
a  half  score  of  years  of  conscientious  preparation 
of  unwritten  discourses  once  a  week,  the  preacher 
will  have  reached  sufiicient  mastery  of  the  art  to 
speak  on  an  emergency  with  very  little  special  study. 
It  is  true  there  are  some  preachers,  as  there  are 
some  musicians,  who  can  never  get  on  smoothly 
without  their  notes.  These  would  do  well  to  confine 
themselves  to  manuscript  discourses.  But  if  any 
consider  it  worth  their  while  to  attempt  the  more 
popular  style,  they  may  be  assured  that  it  is  possible 
of  attainment  by  most  men;  but  only  after  a  severe 
and  protracted  discipline. 


V 


in. 

PKEPAKATIOK,  GENEEAL. 

It  will  very  sensibly  diminisli  the  labor  of  pre- 
paring any  single  sermon  if  the  preacher  has  accu- 
mulated previously  a  store  of,  so  to  speak,  the 
raw  material  from  which  sermons  are  made.  This 
is  useful  for  all  preachers,  but  is  almost  essential  for 
an  extemporaneous  preacher;  for  while  a  written 
sermon  may  be  put  together  of  set  design,  by  the 
hard  labor  of  a  few  hours,  an  extempore  one,  to  be 
successful,  must  be  a  kind  of  growth.  It  must  arise 
with  a  certain  spontaneity,  and,  as  it  were,  develop 
itself  in  the  mind.  This  requires  time,  and  often  a 
long  time.  The  only  way,  therefore,  to  have  a  suf- 
ficient supply  of  material  for  sermons  is  to  make 
special  provision  for  it.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  have  a 
large  blank  book,  or  several  of  them  of  uniform 
size,  and.  the  pages  numbered.  Loose  sheets  can  be 
used,  and  have  been  recommended  by  Dr.  Dale  in 
his  Yale  lectures,  but  they  are  apt  to  be  lost.  Our 
design  contemplates  the  preservation  for  years  of  all 
the  notes  that  may  be  made.  If  worth  making,  they 
will  be  worth  preserving.  There  is  no  greater,  or 
more  foolish,  waste  than  that  of  a  speaker  who 
allows  his  seed-thoughts  to  become  scattered,  and 


32  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

who  hunts  vaguely  around  for  a  text  or  a  subject  as 
he  may  happen  to  want  one.  If  prudent,  he  will 
preserve  them  as  carefully  as  the  farmer  his  seed- 
corn,  or  the  nurseryman  his  young  trees.  Tliey  may 
be  insignificant  now,  but  will  grow  presently  to 
something  valuable.  The  blank  book  should  always 
be  at  hand  to  receive  any  suggestions  that  may  occur 
to  the  mind  in  study  or  reading.  Especially  if  one 
has  the  habit  of  reading  the  Bible  every  morning 
when  the  mind  is  fresh,  the  sacred  pages  will  sparkle 
with  suggestions  of  every  kind  suitable  for  edifica- 
tion of  the  people.  Yiews  of  the  divine  nature,  of 
human  need,  of  the  majesty  of  God's  law,  of  the 
mercy  of  Christ,  of  the  value  of  prayer,  will  be  sug- 
gested, not  altogether  new,  perhaps,  but  fresh  and 
in  new  connections.  This  parable  describes  a  cer- 
tain man  in  the  parish  with  vivid  accuracj^  That 
consolation  is  needed  by  some  family  in  trouble.  A 
precept  is  seen  to  strike  at  the  root  of  a  popular 
vice.  As  the  thought  comes,  it  should  be  noted  down 
w^ith  all  that  the  mind  furnishes  on  the  subject.  It 
may  be  only  a  line  or  two,  or  it  may  be  several 
jjages.  Let  the  thoughts  come  as  rapidly  as  the 
pencil  can  record  them",  without  any  attempt  at  order 
or  elegance  of  expression.  There  are  few  hours. of 
real  study  so  barren  as  not  to  furnish  one  or  more  of 
these  seedlings  of  a  sermon.  In  the  course  of  a  year 
several  hundred  would  be  accumulated.  As,  how- 
ever, many  of  them  will  relate  to  similar  themes, 
when   the    preacher    begins   to   consolidate    them, 


PEEPARATION, GENERAL.  33 

he  will  be  fortunate  if  the  year  has  furnished  a  hun- 
dred distinct  subjects  suitable  for  sermons.  These 
notes  can  be  written  in  succession  in  the  book  and 
easily  posted  by  a  system  of  cross  references  to  the 
several  pages,  on  which  the  same  subject  is  treated 
of.  For  example,  on  page  ten  is  a  thought  relating 
to  prayer,  and  on  page  fifty  another.  If  the  figure 
10  be  placed  opposite  the  latter,  and  50  in  the  mar- 
gin opposite  the  former ;  the  moment  the  eye  falls 
on  either,  it  knows  where  to  look  for  the  related 
thought.  The  blank  book  becomes  in  this  way  what 
might  be  called  in  the  language  of  the  merchants,  a 
"journalized  ledger"  of  our  thinking.  Much  time 
is  thus  saved  in  hunting  for  kindred  thoughts,  and 
after  a  little  time  whole  skeletons  of  sermons  will 
seem  to  start  of  themselves  from  the  closely-written 
pages. 

In  reading,  also,  other  books  than  the  Bible  many 
thoughts  will  arise  in  the  mind,  and  especially  many 
illustrations  of  scriptural  texts,  historical  facts,  bio- 
graphical reminiscences,  scraps  of  poetry,  quotations 
having  the  racy  flavor  of  proverbs,  in  short,  a  mul- 
titude of  things  germane  to  popular  discourse. 
These  may  either  be  transferred  to  the  note-book,  in 
connection  with  some  scripture  text,  or  if  too  long 
they  may  be  indicated  by  a  reference.  It  is  surpris- 
ing how  many  materials  for  sermons  one  will  find, 
if  alert  for  several  months  together  to  this  particular 
point.  The  world  is  full  of  analogies  of  spiritual 
truth,  human  life  overflows  with  instances    of   its 


34  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

power,  or  the  sad  necessity  for  it.  The  sermons  will 
thus  gain  a  variety  and  fullness  in  the  clustered 
thoughts  that  are  not  possible  to  one  who  fails  to 
conserve  the  results  of  his  daily  studies. 

Much  time  may  be  usefully  spent  over  such  a 
note-book,  in  turning  over  its  pages  w^ith  the  in- 
tent to  connect  and  systematize  the  various  scattered 
thoughts  relating  to  a  given  subject;  or  by  going 
slowly  through  it,  some  fragment  of  thought  already 
recorded  is  quite  sure  to  suggest  other  thoughts  of  a 
kindred  nature.  When  a  new  sermon  is  to  be  pre- 
pared, instead  of  seeking  at  random  for  a  subject, 
the  preacher  can  turn  to  it,  almost  certain  of  finding 
among  a  hundred  themes  some  one  that  suits  his 
present  purpose.  Possibly  it  may  only  be  the  ge**m 
of  a  discourse ;  quite  often  he  will  be  gratified  to 
find  a  subject  partially  developed  and  almost  ready 
to  his  hand,  with  several  striking  illustrations  that 
may  make  the  fortune  of  his  sermon.  The  book 
becomes  in  this  way  a  great  economist  of  time.  The 
hours  otherwise  apt  to  be  spent  in  a  useless  and 
tedious  search  for  a  suitable  text  are  occupied  in 
molding  and  bringing  to  perfection  some  fruitful 
thought  that  has  been  often  studied  before  until  its 
outlines  have  become  perfectly  familiar.  As  the 
hand  becomes  skillful  by  long  practice,  it  will  be 
found  that  full  and  complete  skeletons  of  sermons 
have  been  written  out  unawares,  and  at  the  impulse 
of  the  moment,  requiring  but  very  little  rearrange- 
ment and  a  minimum  of  labor  to  adapt  them  to  the 


PREPARATION, GENERAL.  35 

needs  of  the  pulpit.  This  method  of  storing  up  the 
select  results  of  our  year's  reading  and  thinking  in 
a  note-book,  like  honey  in  a  hive,  while  useful  for 
all  ministers,  is  almost  essential  to  the  success  of  ai^ 
extempore  preacher,  because  he  needs  to  be  more 
familiar  with  the  subjects  of  his  sermons,  and  to  have 
given  them  a  more  genetic  development. 

There  is  another  habit  which  will  prove  of  utmost 
advantage  to  a  preacher,  if  begun  in  his  early  min- 
istry and  persisted  in  to  the  end;  that  is  the  so- 
called  "  homiletic  habit,"  or  the  practice  of  taking  a 
text  every  day,  or  at  least  two  or  three  times  in  a 
week,  and  building  upon'  it  an  outline  discourse  as 
complete  and  finished  as  can  be  made  in  an  hour.  If 
a  minister  in  the  early  months  of  the  year,  when  com- 
paratively fresh  from  vacation,  has  the  active  energy 
to  prepare  such  skeleton  sermons  for  a  number  of 
months  in  succession,  he  will  not  be  at  any  loss  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  year  for  material  that  can 
be  readily  fashioned  into  his  completed  discourses. 
Even  though  many  of  these  skeletons  should  never 
be  used  for  Sunday  sermons  they  will  prove  ex- 
tremely convenient  for  prayer-meetings,  lectures  and 
funeral  addresses;  giving  the  hard-pressed  clergy- 
man somewhat  of  the  same  feeling  of  security  in 
regard  to  his  supply  of  material  for  preaching  that 
he  would  have  financially,  if  he  could  always  keep  a 
small  balance  at  his  banker's.  Nothing  secures 
more  perfectly  that  sense  of  ample  resources  and  re- 
served power  which  add  so  much  to  the  force  of  an 


36  EXTEMPORE    PREACpiNG. 

extempore  sermon,  as  the  long-continued  habit  of 
analyzing  and  recomposing  texts  in  this  manner; 
for,  in  speaking,  the  moment  any  text  that  has  been 
so  treated  flashes  upon  the  mind,  the  thoughts  that 
were  developed  from  it  come  thronging  in  its  train, 
and  allow  the  discourse  to  be  logically  expanded  to 
any  extent. 

It  is  said  tliat  a  living  American  author  of  great- 
popularity  keeps  his  manuscrij^t  six  months  aliead  of 
the  demands  of  the  printer.  Only  thus  can  he  se- 
cure that  freedom  from  nervous  apprehension  which 
enables  him  to  do  his  best  work.  A  preacher  does 
wisely  who  is  always  similarly  beforehand  with  his 
work.  He  cannot,  perhaps,  keep  six  months  in  ad- 
vance, but  he  may  easily  be  one  month  ahead  of  the 
probable  demands  of  the  pulpit.  If,  by  a  little  ex- 
tra labor  at  the  beginning,  or  by  utilizing  his  ex- 
changes, he  can  get  eight  or  ten  finished  sermons 
laid  away  in  his  desk,  all  prej)ared  for  the  pulpit, 
and,  like  so  many  loaded  pistols,  ready  to  be  fired  at 
a  moment's  notice,  it  will  be  a  useful  provision.  He 
has  the  secure  feeling  of  being  prepared  against  the 
coming  Sabbath,  no  matter  how  busy  the  week  may 
be.  More  than  this,  he  will  inevitably,  by  looking 
them  over  occasionally  to  decide  upon  a  selection, 
become  very  familiar  with  the  trains  of  thought 
which  they  contain.  Every  time,  also,  that  they  are 
read  over,  new  thoughts  or  fresh  references  to  books 
read  will  occur  that  may  be  added  to  the  enrichmept 
of  the  discourse. 


PREPARATION, GENTERAL.  37 

The  writer  likes  to  have  appended  to  the  argu-^ 
ments  of  an  extemporaneous  sermon,  a  double  or 
triple  set  of  scripture  proofs  and  illustrations,  under 
each  general  division,  to  be  used  when  the  discourse 
is  repeated,  or  that  he  may  have  a  variety  from  which 
to  select  at  the  first  preaching ;  or  in  case  an  illus- 
tration should  miss  its  mark  with  the  audience,  there 
may  be  more  arrows  in  the  quiver,  allowing  him  to 
try  again. 

In  treating  more  at  large  of  the  question  of  pro- 
viding material  for  sermons  of  this  kind,  we  remark 
that  a  novice  in  the  art  will  find  his  best  account  in 
taking  a  great  subject,  or  in  commenting  upon  extend- 
ed passages  of  scripture.  A  written  sermon  may  be 
like  a  fine-line  engraving,  in  its  minute  treatment  of 
a  limited  theme ;  an  extempore  sermon  is  n\ore  like 
a  broad  and  rapid  sketch,  which  demands  bold  out- 
lines and  strongly-marked  figures.  The  former  may 
resemble  an  exquisitely  cut  cameo  ;  the  latter  is  a 
statue  for  the  public  square,  and  should  be  simple 
in  outline  and  massive  in  treatment.  A  great  sub- 
ject, by  which  is  meant  any  of  the  principal  theses 
of  theology,  or  morals,  will  have  been  handled  by 
able  professors,  in  the  lecture-room  of  the  seminary, 
and  has  been  studied  in  the  text-books  for  months 
together.  Thus  a  large  amount  of  material  is  al- 
ready at  hand,  in  the  note  books  or  the  memor}^,  too 
scholastic,  indeed,  in  its  present  form,  but  easily  po- 
pularized, by  argument,  illustration  and  appeal,  so 
as  to  be  made  suitable  for  an  audience.     An  aro^u- 


38  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

ment  for  the  Being  of  God,  or  a  discourse  upon  his 
Attributes,  the  Inspiration  and  Canon  of  Scripture, 
Freedom  of  the  Will  and  Human  Kesponsibilityj 
the  function  of  the  Church,  the  Person  of  Christ,  the 
value  of  a  Mediator,  the  Atonement,  Eschatology, 
are  in  themselves  mighty  themes,  requiring  no  mag- 
nifying, but  only  clear  statement,  and  earnest  appli- 
cation. 

As  in  traveling  among  the  mountains,  the  guide 
may  be  a  very  commonplace  man,  and  of  simple 
speech,  yet  if  he  can  take  the  party  safely  across  the 
glaciers  and  along  the  precipices,  he  will  be  dignified 
by  his  surroundings  and  secure  of  attention  to  his 
lightest  word  ;  so  the  preacher  who  leads  the  people 
among  the  snow-capped  mountains  and  awful  decli- 
vities of  religious  thought,  is  helped  in  his  impres- 
sion, by  the  magnitude  of  the  topics,  and,  so  to 
sj^eak,  by  the  very  majesty  of  the  scenes  them- 
selves. The  thoughts  are  great  intrinsically  and 
need  no  enlargement.  There  is  more  to  be  said  than 
can  be  crowded  into  one  discourse.  'No  fear,  there- 
fore, of  falling  short,  or  of  stopping  through  any  lack 
of  things  to  say.  Besides,  these  are  the  mighty 
themes  which  most  need  to  be  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  any  congregation.  It  seems  to  us  a  fault  of 
much  modern  preaching,  that  it  confines  its  attention 
to  very  minute  fractions  of  the  truth.  The  great- 
ness of  the  gospel  is  frittered  away  in  refined  discus- 
sions :  as  if  an  astronomer  should  neglect  the  great 
constellations,  and  restrict  his  investigations  to 
doubtful  questions  about  comets  and  asteroids. 


PREPARATION, GENERAL.  39 

A  celebrated  preacher  has  given  a  very  good  piece 
of  advice,  which  is  properly  recalled  in  this  connec- 
tion. It  is :  That  a  young  preacher  will  find  a  rich 
store  of  materials  for  sermons  in  popularizing  what 
is  called  "  Introduction "  to  the  various  books  ot 
scripture.  A  few  sermons  of  great  profit  may  be 
preached  in  this  way,  every  year.  The  books  of  the 
Bible  are,  as  a  whole,  very  much  of  an  unknown 
continent  to  the  majority  of  very  intelligent  Chris- 
tians. They  have  been  all  their  life  familiar  with 
parts  of  the  various  books,  with  single  narratives  or 
with  texts  of  unusual  significance.  But  they  have 
never  been  accustomed  to  contemplate  the  books  as 
a  whole,  or  in  their  relation  to  the  other  scriptural 
books.  This,  then,  is  a  field  comparatively  new  and 
very  fertile.  Each  of  the  books  of  the  Pentateuch, 
the  goodly  fellowship  of  the  prophets,  the  four  gos- 
pels, any  of  the  epistles,  treated  in  a  manner  similar 
to  that  of  the  great  commentators,  if  not  with  quite 
their  ability,  will  be  the  rich  substance  of  a  sermon. 
Who  wrote  the  book,  when  and  why,  what  was  his 
general  course  of  thought,  what  particular  errors  are 
combated  or  truths  emphasized,  more  than  in  another 
of  the  books  of  Scripture,  how  was  the  book  pre- 
served, and  what  reasons  there  are  for  believing  it 
genuine  ; — a  course  of  thought  like  this  will  bring  the 
congregation  more  into  the  attitude  of  those  who 
first  heard  the  written  record,  and  will  reproduce 
some  of  their  fresh  emotions. 

To  go  through  one  of  the  gospels  in  order,  or 


40  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

rapidly  comment  on  any  other  of  the  chief  books, 
if  properly  done,  is  a  most  useful  exercise  for  both 
preacher  and  people.  The  book  becomes,  in  this  way, 
to  the  preacher,  what  "  cases  "  are  to  a  lawyer,  giving 
an  outline  of  the  discourses  already  prepared,  and 
requiring  only  careful  arrangement  and  vigorous 
statement.  This  was  a  favorite  method  with  Chry- 
sostom  and  Augustine,  as  appears  by  the  reports  of 
their  sermons,  well  worth  studying  even  at  this  late 
day.  It  was  also  much  practiced  by  some  of  the 
Puritan  divines,  albeit  in  written  sermons.  No  one 
can  turn  over  an  alcove  of  old  English  theologians 
without  being  impressed  by  the  massive  solidity  of 
the  pulpit  ministrations  of  Baxter,  Owen,  Charnock, 
or  Bishop  Hall. 

Professor  Phelps  gives,  in  a  recent  newspaper 
article,  some  interesting  reminiscences  of  Dr.  Albert 
Barnes.  Among  other  things,  the  professor  says : 
"  He  made  much  of  serial  preaching,  the  sign  com- 
monly of  thoughtful  and  thorough  discussion  in  the 
pulpit.  A  series  of  doctrinal  discourses  for  the 
Sunday  mornings  of  every  winter,  and  a  series  of 
Biblical  expositions  for  the  afternoons,  constituted 
the  usual  material  of  his  preaching.  Yet  the  serial 
plan  was  held  in  easy  hand,  so  that  he  could  at  any 
time  suspend  it  for  seroions  which  local  and 
transient  conditions  might  require  in  its  place." 

The  people  will,  very  likely,  grow  impatient  of 
such  a  course,  if  protracted  beyond  five  or  six  ser- 
mons in  succession ;  but  it  may  be  quietly  dropped 


PREPARATION, GENERAL.  41 

and  resumed,  again  and  again,  until  after  some 
years  the  design  is  completed.  In  the  newer  parts 
of  the  country,  so  far  as  the  writer  has  been  able  to 
observe,  there  is  a  great  lack  of  familiarity  with  the 
Old  Testament.  The  children  are  not  taught,  as 
they  used  to  be,  the  early  history  of  God's  people. 
Even  those  whose  flexible  Bibles  give  evidence  of 
patient  study  of  the  psalms  or  the  gospels,  have  very 
little  practical  acquaintance  with  tlie  rest  of  the 
sacred  books.  Accordingly,  the  historical  portions 
of  the  Old  Testament  become  a  remarkably  fertile 
field  for  the  discovery  of  fresh  and  telling  illustra- 
tions of  the  gospel  message.  The  history  of  Abra- 
ham, Samuel,  or  Elijah,  the  life  of  David,  the  later 
kings,  or  any  of  the  prophets,  are  sources  of 
inexhaustible  argument  and  comparison.  This  is 
very  useful  for  Sunday  evenings,  as  being  almost 
entirely  new  ground  to  the  miscellaneous  audiences 
which  flock  idly  from  all  parts  of  a  city ;  more,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  with  the  object  of  passing  a  pleasant 
hour,  than  for  any  deep  spiritual  impression.  Still, 
these  are  the  people  who  most  need  the  gospel,  and 
large  profit  will  ensue,  if  we  can  interest  them  in 
better  than  merely  sensational  subjects. 

]^ow  that  the  latter  subjects  have  been  alluded  to, 
the  writer  may  be  allow^ed  to  express  the  opinion, 
that  it  is  poor  policy  to  depend  upon  them  to  any 
considerable  extent.  Able  and  successful  clergy- 
men have  done  so,  it  is  true,  but  such  clergymen 
w^ould  have  been  successful  in  anv  event.     For  all 


5* 


42  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

ordinary  occasions  it  is  far  better  to  rely  upon  the 
dignified  and  solemn  themes  that  will  arise  from 
any  chapter  of  the  Bible.  If  the  people  are  taught 
to  look  for  sensations,  in  a  few  months  their  appetite 
becomes  jaded,  and  desirous  of  stronger  stimulants. 
It  is  like  the  use  of  alcoholic  stimulants.  Stronger 
doses  are  continually  required.  Moreover,  in  any 
practical  discussion  of  an  ethical  subject,  allusion  can 
easily  be  made  to  any  extraordinary^  event  that  is 
occupying  the  public  mind.  It  will  be  all  the  more 
effective,  if  it  appears  to  arise  naturally  from  a 
scriptural  tlieme,  than  if  chosen  as  a  special  topic 
for  an  entire  discourse. 

In  addition  to  the  subjects  drawn  directly  from 
the  Bible,  there  are  innumerable  points  in  which  it 
touches  human  history,  philosophy,  government,  and 
social  science.  Its  truths  find  in  the  record  of  all 
great  events  a  striking  and  dignified  illustration. 
Its  principles  apply  to  tlie  great  movements  of 
society,  as  well  as  to  the  duties  of  individuals. 
That  preacher,  therefore,  will  be  best  furnished  with 
diversified  materials  for  his  sermons,  who  with 
active  mind  has  studied  widely  every  great  branch 
of  knowledge.  It  is  very  noticeable,  for  example, 
what  breadth  of  view,  solidity  of  argument,  ampli- 
tude of  treatment,  and  judicial  fairness,  characterize 
tliose  preachers,  who  before  entering  the  ministry^ 
have  spent  some  time  in  studying  law.  Although 
legal  practice  is  not  always  marked  by  these  quali- 
ties, yet  the  law-books  are,  being  written  for  the 


PREPARATION, GENERAL.  43 

most  part  by  eminent  jurists.  To  have  ground 
throngh  Blackstone,  or  Story,  or  the  law  of  Evidence, 
or  a  volume  of  Reports,  will  not  only  give  something 
of  a  judicial  quality  to  the  mode  of  viewing  a  subject, 
but  will  suggest  numberless  practical  applications  of 
the  gospel  to  human  iniquity,  and  to  the  require- 
ments of  justice  between  man  and  man.  We  think 
that  the  effect  of  their  legal  studies  is  very  observ- 
able in  such  men  as  Ambrose  among  the  Fathers, 
among  the  Reformers,  Calvin  ;  and  in  this  country, 
Dwight,  Bushnell,  Kirk,  and  some  eminent  living 
clergymen.  A  year  spent  in  a  lawyer^s  office  is  not 
by  any  means  lost  time,  in  preparation  for  the 
ministry. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  history  furnishes 
an  exhaustless  field  of  study  for  the  preacher, 
ennobling  in  itself,  and  rich  in  the  material  of  noble 
thought.  Cicero  earnestly  recommends  the  orator 
to  study  history,  which  will,  he  says,  supply  copious- 
ness of  illustration.  The  preacher  has  a  still  better 
reason  for  this  study,  for  the  Bible  was  composed 
by  members  of  a  race  who  were  in  intimate  con- 
tact with  the  five  great  monarchies  of  the  ancient 
world,  Babylonian,  Assyrian,  Egyptian,  Macedonian, 
and  Roman.  It  behooves  a  man  of  God  to  know 
somewhat  more  of  these  empires  and  their  decaying 
civilizations,  than  is  furnished  by  the  commentaries. 
Raiulinson's  Ancient  Monarchies^  Smitlih  and  Lay- 
ard's  Discoveries  in  Nineveh^-  Wilkinson^ s  Ancient 
Egyptians^  Merivcde's  History    of  the  Roman   People^ 


44  ^  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

and  other  works  of  this  class,  are  admirable  reading 
in  themselves,  and  throw  innumerable  side-lights  on 
the  Scriptures,  enabling  us  to  understand  them 
better,  and  enriching  our  resources  for  expository 
preaching.  How  can  any  one  tell  the  power  of 
Christianity  in  lifting  the  nations,  as  the  continents 
were  upheaved  from  the  ocean,  unless  he  has  read 
the  wonderful  history  of  the  Christian  centuries,  and 
has  learned  how  the  old  heathen  society,  with  its 
corruption  and  despair,  was  seized  and  remoulded 
by  the'gospel ;  until,  through  ages  of  darkness  and 
confusion,  slowly  emerged  a  new  literature,  new 
states,  the  rich  triumphs  of  modern  science  and  art ! 

In  metaphysics  and  philosophy,  possibly,  the 
average  minister  has  been  drilled,  all  that  time  will 
allow,  for  these  are  the  favorite  studies  of  the  schools. 
But  few  are  sufficiently  posted  on  p'olitical  economy 
and  social  science.  Yet  the  questions  treated  in 
these  departments  of  thought  are  continually  seeth- 
ing in  the  community,  and  can  be  alluded  to  by  the 
pulpit,  in  their  general  aspects,  with  both  interest 
and  profit. 

It  is  unlikely,  for  instance,  that  a  speaker  will 
discourse  wisely  upon  temperance  legislation,  the 
social  evil,  care  of  the  poor,  sanitary  regulation,  the 
Mormon  question,  exclusion  of  the  Chinese,  and 
similar  themes,  anless  he  has  had  some  previous 
study  of  the  great  principles  underlying  these 
questions.  Yet  discourse  of  them  he  must,  or  be 
content  w^ith  exercising  less  than  his  legitimate  in- 
fluence upon  the  community. 


PREPARATION, GENERAL.  45 

All  this  study  cannot  be  mastered  in  a  brief 
period,  but  he  has  before  him  a  life-time  of  study, 
and  may,  if  diligent,  accomplish  large  things.  An 
hour  of  serious  reading  daily  for  thirty  years  will 
give  materials  so  ample  as  to  provide  a  generous 
store  of  illustrations  for  all  possible  pulpit  services. 

Better  than  any  definite  information,  these  studies 
broaden  and  enrich  the  mind,  which  in  the  study  of 
theology  alone  is  apt  to  grow  narrow  and  juiceless. 
They  make  us  acquainted  with  life  as  it  is,  rather 
than  with  speculations  upon  it.  They  enable  the 
minister  to  look  out  from  his  study  windows  for 
himself,  and  see  what  is  passing  in  the  great  world. 
His  sermons  may  lose  a  little  in  metaphysical  acumen, 
but  they  will  be  vastly  more  interesting,  as  touching 
human  interests  in  every  direction. 


IT. 

AEEANGEME^T. 

Much  of  the  success  of  an  extemporaneous  sermon 
will  depend  on  the  care  with  which  its  several  parts 
are  arranged.  The  proper  disposition  of  the  argu- 
ments is  as  important  as  their  invention.  Whether 
for  the  ease  of  the  speaker  in  delivering  his  sermon, 
or  for  the  pleasure  of  the  audience  in  listening,  the 
distribution  of  the  thoughts  and  their  mutual  con- 
nection are  of  utmost  consequence.  Such  a  sermon 
cannot  be  molluscous  in  structure ;  it  must  be  verte- 
brate. One  unifying  thought  should  pervade  every 
paragraph  and  be  subtly  referred  to  in  ever}^  sen- 
tence. Professor  Goodrich  makes  the  remark  in 
reference  to  Lord  Erskine,  that  the  great  success  of 
his  forensic  arguments  was  due  to  a  ''leading  prin- 
ciple, early  announced  and  closely  adhered  to, 
throughout  the  lo'ngest  speech,  and  giving  it  a 
weight  which  detached  thoughts,  however  splendid, 
could  never  liave  attained."  The  grand  purpose  of 
the  sermon,  clearly  fixed  in  the  mind  of  the  preacher 
at  the  outset  should  never  be  forgotten,  even  for  a 
moment,  and  should  be  made  equally  evident  to  the 
congregation.  It  seems  to  us  wise  to  do  this  in  the 
opening  sentence,  or  at  least  in  the  first  paragraph. 


ARRANGEMENT.  47 

An  exordium,  of  less  or  greater  length,  may  be 
necessary  in  courts  or  senates  to  render  the  audience 
friendly,  docile,  and  attentive;  but  in  church  all  the 
previous  exercises  are  properly  the  preacher's  exor- 
dium. The  hymns  selected,  the  passages  of  scrip- 
ture read,  the  prayers,  if  they  are  suitable  to  his 
purpose,  will  prepare  the  audience  more  effectively 
for  the  argument  of  the  discourse,  than  any  skill  in 
the  opening  paragraphs  can  do.  Whether  by  antic- 
ipating the  tone  of  tlie  sermon,  or  by  contrast  with 
it,  a  skillful  preaclier  w^ill  make  all  the  preliminary 
exercises  contribute  to  his  main  design.  Having 
done  so,  it  is  quite  superftnous  to  have  any  elaborate 
exordium.  The  audience  is  attentive  to  the  readincr 
of  the  text,  many  having  their  Bibles  open  ready  to 
turn  to  the  passage.  Having  heard  it,  they  are  im- 
mediately curious  to  learn  what  the  minister  means 
to  do  witli  it.  For  there  are  many  lessons  that  may  be 
derived  from  any  significant  text  of  scripture.  The 
words  of  Holy  Writ  are  succulent,  not  to  be  ex- 
hausted by  any  single  use.  It  is  a  good  plan  to 
gratify  this  very  laudable  curiosity  by  announcing, 
as  clearly  and  concisely  as  possible,  the  purport  of 
the  discourse.  The  first  sentence  thus  strikes  the  skill- 
ful key-note  of  the  whole  sermon.  There  are  various 
ways  of  doing  this.  It  may  be  by  a  direct  statement 
of  the  preacher's  purpose,  as  "  I  propose  to  speak 
to-day  of  such  a  clause ;"  or  "  My  intention  is  to  em- 
ploy this  text  in  the  maintenance  of  such  a  propo- 
sition."     It  is  preferable,  however,  generally,  to  let 


48  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

the  sentiment  uttered  be  itself  the  proposition.  Or 
it  may,  occasionally,  be  introduced  by  an  anecdote, 
a  parable,  a  simile,  or  even  a  prayer. 

A  good  impression  is  produced  if  the  speaker, 
after  announcing  some  general  proposition,  proceeds 
at  once  to  break  it  up  into  its  parts.  This  not  only 
enables  the  people  to  appreliend  it  more  clearly,  but 
gives  the  impression  of  movement;  as  if  the  preacher 
had  much  to  say  and  did  not  care  to  linger  on  the 
portals  of  his  subject.  To  introduce  many  thoughts 
only  remotely  pertinent  to  the  theme,  at  the  opening 
of  a  discourse,  has  been  wittily  compared  to  leaving 
one's  heavy  baggage  in  the  office  of  a  hotel  because 
it  was  too  large  to  carry  to  the  room.  Such  baggage 
is  an  encumbrance  rather  than  a  help,  both  to  a 
traveler  and  a  speaker.  An  extempore  speaker, 
particularly,  must  guard  against  the  impression  that 
he  is  dallying  with  his  subject  for  the  purpose  of  fill- 
ing up  the  time,  in  the  fear  lest  his  material  should 
not  hold  out  the  allotted  half  hour.  This  is  best 
accomplished  by  a  succinct  and  rapid  statement  at 
the  outset  of  his  principal  thoughts.  If  they  are 
weighty,  the  people  will  gladly  have  them  recalled, 
by  and  by,  for  amplification  and  illustration.  We 
do  not  mean  that  it  is  wise  to  state  always,  or  often, 
at  the  beginning  the  outline  of  his  sermon.  As  has 
been  well  said,  it  need  not  be  like  a  Sw^iss  cottage 
with  the  framework  outside.  But  it  should  have  a 
framework ;  and,  as  a  well-built  house  strikes  the  eye 
in  its  completeness,  before  we  enter  to  examine  the 


ARRANGEMENT.  49 

rooms  in  detail,  so  should  a  discourse  give  a  general 
view,  in  compact  and  well-chosen  thoughts,  of  its 
structure  and  design. 

The  extempore  preacher  does  well  to  avoid  a  mul- 
titude of  divisions  and  sub-divisions.  They  tend  to 
confuse  his  mind  and  are  hard  to  retain  in  the  mem- 
ory. Two  or  three  general  divisions  of  the  subject 
and  a  few  clustered  thoughts  under  each  are  suffic- 
ient. The  utmost  care  is  necessary  to  avoid  making 
these  divisions  artificial  or  different  from  the  natural 
cleavage  of  the  text.  Each  head  must  be  an  impor- 
tant and  obvious  segment  of  the  subject,  different 
from  the  rest.  Only  thus  can  it  justify  its  existence 
and  be  kept  separate  from  them  in  speaking. 

A  few  niai]i  ideas,  clearly  stated  and  repeated  in 
varying  phrase  until  they  make  their  impression,  are 
better  than  many.  If  weighty,  a  large  number  of 
ideas  will  prove  too  much  for  the  digestion  of  an 
audience ;  if  insignificant,  they  are  felt  to  be  below 
the  seriousness  of  a  divine  service.  To  select  a  few 
of  the  most  important  considerations  relating  to  the 
subject,  amplify  and  illustrate  them,  is  the  best 
method  of  treatment.  Nor  need  there  be  any  fear 
of  too  much  repetition,  within  reasonable  limits. 
A  lawyer,  it  has  been  said,  will  be  apt  to  repeat  his 
main  proposition  nearly  as  many  times  as  there  are 
jurymen  in  the  box,  before  he  has  succeeded  in  con- 
vincing them  all.  "^  Idem  haud  iisdem  verhis^^  the 
same  idea  but  in  different  words,  is  the  proper  rule. 
Any  important  thought,  especially  if  at  all  novel  in 

6 


.')()  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

itself  or  by  its  connections,  cannot  be  grasped  by  the 
mind  of  the  hearer  from  a  single  statement.  It 
requires  to  be  presented  over  and  over  again  in 
phrases  ingeniously  varied,  before  a  clear  apprehen- 
sion reaches  the  people  of  what  it  is  the  preacher 
would  say.  Even  then  the  work  is  but  half  done, 
for  the  mere  comprehension  of  a  new  idea  is  of 
comparatively  little  value.  It  needs  to  be  made 
emphatic.  It  must  make  impression  on  the  mind, 
as  the  engraver  cuts  his  design,  by  repeated  strokes, 
on  the  plate  of  steel  or  copper.  To  have  any  lasting 
effect,  it  must  be  embodied  in  illustrations,  enforced 
by  trope  and  metaphor,  shown  in  practical  relation 
to  life,  held  up  as  a  factor  in  history,  emphasized  by 
quotations  from  Holy  Scripture. 

All  this  demands  time  and  space.  Plainly,  only 
a  few  ideas  can  be  so  presented  in  any  one  sermon. 
And  we  are  not  now  speaking  of  the  principal  ideas, 
of  which  there  should  be  but  one  or  two,  but  of  the 
subordinate  topics  employed  in  their  elucidation. 
These  should  be  weighty,  well  developed,  and  few 
in  number.  Combined  and  recombined  in  various 
ways,  they  give  ample  substance  to  the  discourse, 
and  furnish  the  audience  with  enough,  but  not  too 
much,  to  carry  away.  It  may  be  wittily  objected, 
here,  that  few  preachers  are  in  danger  of  bringing 
too  much  thought  before  the  audience.  Not  too 
much  certainly ;  but  they  may  bring  too  many 
thoughts.  Hand  multa,  sed  midtum,  not  many  things, 
but  much,  should  l)e  the  principle  in  our  preaching 
as  in  our  studies. 


AKRANGEMENT.  01 

There  are,  moreover,  not  many  subordinate  ideas, 
of  first  importance,  closely  connected  with  any  single 
subject.  If  properly  limited,  as  it  should  be,  to  a 
definite  proposition,  "  God  is  love,"  "  We  are  saved 
by  faith,"  the  illustrative  thoughts  immediately 
related  to  the  theme,  and  of  a  far-reaching  signifi- 
cance, will  not  ordinarily  embarrass  the  speaker  by 
their  number.  If  he  must  have  many  sub-divisions, 
some  of  them  will  pro^^  of  secondary  importance, 
and  will  add  really  nothing  to  the  argument. 

While  there  is  no  rule  that  controls  the  number 
of  illustrations  that  may  properly  be  employed,  it  is 
our  opinion  that  one  under  each  head  is  generally 
sufficient.  If  the  illustration  already  used  seems  to 
fail  of  its  purpose,  or  if  the  thought  be  particularly 
recondite,  several  illustrations  may  be  introduced. 
But  for  all  ordinary  purposes,  one  good  one  is 
enough.  Illustrations  have  been  compared  to  win- 
dows that  let  in  the  light.  We  do  not  want  to 
make  the  house  all  windows,  lest  there  be  no  room 
for  any  thing  else,  solid  wall  or  interior  convenience. 
They  naturally  come  at  the  close  of  a  paragraph, 
and,  as  it  were,  clinch  the  nail,  which  the  master  of 
the  assembly  is  driving  in.  An  illustration,  com- 
pacted into  a  metaphor  will  thus,  at  the  close, 
impinge  the  thought  with  burning,  dazzling  force 
upon  the  mind.  Dr.  Bushnell's  sermons,  although 
they  have  few  developed  illustrations,  have  innu- 
merable metaphors,  embodying  his  thought  with  the 
vivid  imaginativeness  of  a  true  poet.     It  will  be 


52  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

found,  we  think,  that  a  favorite  way  with  this  most 
delightful  preacher,  was  to  condense  the  whole 
power  of  a  paragraph  into  one  fiery  sentence  at  the 
end.  Thus  in  the  sermon, ''  Loving  God  is  but  let- 
ting God  love  us,"  he  says,  "  Your  prayers  must  fan 
your  desires,  waiting  as  porters  at  all  the  gates  and 
windows  of  your  feeling,  to  hold  them  open  to  God's 
day."  And  again,  "  You  have  nothing  to  do  but  to 
let  God's  love  possess  and  till  you,  which  it  assur- 
edly will,  even  as  it  fills  the  great  and  wide  sea  of 
his  infinite  bosom."  Or  in  the  sermon,  very  perti- 
nent to  modern  discussions,  "  A  single  trial  better 
than  many ; "  "  The  gold-washers  of  California, 
having  passed  tlieir  dirt  once  through  the  sluice, 
drop  what  they  call  the  '  tailings  '  below  ;  and  some- 
times they  discover  a  very  little  gold  in  these,  enough 
to  pay  for  milling  them  over  again.  But  the 
tailings,  of  an  old,  bad  life,  which  has  yielded  no  gold 
on  the  first  trial — who  will  go  to  work  on  them  with 
any,  least  prospect  of  success  ?  " 

These  are  endings  of  different  paragraphs,  or  near 
the  end,  and  fashion  their  thought  into  a  thunder- 
bolt to  project  it  irresistibly  upon  the  mind.  This 
precept,  as  is  evident  by  our  citation  of  Dr.  Bush- 
nell,  is  fully  as  applicable  to  written  as  to  extempore 
sermons.  But  no  speaker  can  neglect  it  safely,  for 
it  brings  out  the  thought  by  a  kind  of  natural  cli- 
max, and  presents  it  boldly  to  the  attention  of  the 
congregation. 

While  arguing  that  the   thought  of  a  paragraph 


ARRANGEMENT.  53 

should  be  so  arranged  as  to  be  climactic  in  its  impres- 
sion, we  venture  to  differ  with  the  modern  practice 
of  making  the  whole  sermon  climactic,  by  bringing 
the  utmost  force  to  bear  upon  the  termination.  And 
our  courage  in  this  dissent  is  re-inforced  by  the 
authority  of  antiquity.  Thus,  we  think  most  schol- 
ars would  place  the  climax  of  Demosthenes'  speech 
"  On  the  Crown  "  at  the  oath,  "  By  those  who  rushed 
on  destruction  at  Marathon  .  .  .  o-allant  men ! " 
and  this  is  not  nearly  at  the  end.  Our  reason  for 
putting  the  climax  somewhere  else  than  at  the  end, 
or  near  it,  is  that  in  the  case  of  preaching  people 
have  come  to  expect  it,  and  completely  to  discount 
its  force.  When  the  preacher  grows  fervid  in  his 
appeal,  they  begin  to  look 'for  hat  and  gloves,  as 
knowing  the  end  to  be  near. 

Kow,  in  awakening  the  attention  of  an  audience, 
or  making  an  impression  on  their  feelings,  the  ele- 
ment of  surprise  is  of  no  insignificant  advantage. 
As  soon  as  any  method  of  address  becomes  stereo- 
typed, however  excellent  it  may  have  been  origi- 
nally, it  is  shorn  of  half  its  power.  When  men  an- 
ticipate an  appeal,  they  brace  themselves  instinct- 
ively against  it.  To  succeed,  it  must,  as  it  were,  take 
them  in  flank  while  they  are  not  looking  for  it.  If 
the  culmination  of  the  sermon,  its  strongest  points, 
the  most  impressive  applications,  are  regularly  placed 
at  the  end,  the  people  will  very  soon  learn  to  expect 
them  there  and  elude  their  power.  In  order  to 
avoid  this,  it  appears  to  be  the  best  way  to  have  no 

6* 


54  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

settled  order,  but  to  change  as  much  as  possible  the 
position  of  the  climax.  Yariety  is  secured  by  this 
means,  and  better  than  variety,  a  greater  impressive- 
ness.  Takeu  at  unawares,  men  are  touched  before 
they  had  begun  to  suspect  there  was  any  likelihood 
of  it. 

The  speaker  will  be  allowed  to  digress  occasion- 
ally from  the  direct  line  of  his  argument,  provided 
lie  does  not  use  this  liberty  too  frequently,  and  the 
digression  seems  to  be  a  natural  one.  But  men  are 
impatient  of  a  wandering  discourse,  and  nothing 
pleases  them  so  much  as  for  the  preacher  to  stick  to 
the  point.  It  is  well,  therefore,  to  avoid  the  appear- 
ance of  wandering  b}'  distinctly  marking  the  fact 
that  it  is  a  digression.  •  After  an  excursion  into  some 
interesting  field  of  remark  that  grows  out  of  the 
subject,  indeed,  but  grows  away  from  it,  the  speaker 
will  check  himself  with  the  words,  *'  To  return  to 
our  theme,"  or  something  of  similar  import.  This 
secures  a.ny  doubtful  listeners  froni  mistaking  the 
side-track  for  the  main  line,  and  keeps  the  principal 
argument  distinctly  before  them. 

Better  than  any  digression,  however,  is  the  skill 
that  can  so  deftly  arrange  the  thoughts  of  the  dis- 
course as  to-  allow  the  speaker  to  say  whatever  the 
subject  has  suggested  to  him  directly,  and  without 
any  seeming  diversion.  Tliis  can  generally  be  done 
by  a  little  pains,  though  not  always.  What  would 
be  a  digression  under  one  head,  becomes  a  natural 
inference  under  another.      Placed  where  it  belongs, 


ARRANGEMENT.  55 

the  application  will  have  a  greatly  increased  efficacy. 
It  will  not  appear  to  have  been  sought  for,  bnt  to 
have  come  of  itself. 

The  remark  was  made  at  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter  that  afl  extempore  sermon  cannot  be  mollus- 
cous, but  must  be  vertebrate  in  its  structure ;  it  may 
be  advisable  at  this  point  to  state  mure  fully  what 
was  intended  by  the  observation.  It  is,  then,  a 
noticeable  quality  of  some  styles  of  Avriting,  that  the 
thought  Hows  on  in  a  placid  stream,  without  an}^ 
breaking  up  into  segments  or  divisions  of  any  kind. 
This  style  is  characterized  by  accretion,  or  by  adding 
one  thought  after  another  as  it  happens  to  occur  to 
the  mind  of  the  writer,  without  any  very  definite 
prevision  of  the  end  from  the  beginning.  It  is  not 
lacking  in  adaptation  to  an  essay,  or  to  light  sketches 
of  any  sort.  It  is  often  seen  in  written  sermons, 
notably  those  of  a  meditative  character.  But  it 
will  not  answer  for  an  extemporaneous  preacher. 
For  one  thing,  it  will  be  impossible  for  him  to  re- 
member a  mass  of  undigested  and  disconnected  ob- 
servations. The  mind  fails  to  retain  them,  for  there 
is  no  interior  coherence  to  bind  together  and  fasten 
them  in  the  memory;  they  are,  so  to  speak,  mollus- 
cous. 

A  spoken  sermon  must  have  a  clear  and  definite 
plan  underlying  its  entire  organization.  It  must  be 
regularly  built  around  a  central  idea,  as  vertebrate 
animals  around,  or  upon,  a  back-bone ;  and  every 
division,  paragraph,  or  sentence,  bound  to   the  rest 


56  KXTE>[POF^E    PREACHING. 

by  a  close  articulation.  Even  thougli  nothing  ol 
this  interior  connection  sliould  be  revealed  to  the 
audience ;  to  the  mind  of  the  speaker  there  must 
be  definite,  Avell-marked  divisions  all  the  way 
through.  Each  topic  must  be  related  to  the  one  be- 
fore, and  to  the  following,  by  a  close  logical  sequence. 
Each  topic,  moreover,  must  stand  by  itself,  clearly 
marked  in  the  mind.  All  the  thoughts  of  the  ser- 
mon, which  bear  upon  that  topic,  should  be  clustered 
around  it.  It  will  have  its  own  statement,  proofs, 
illustrations,  and  possibly,  applications ;  in  short,  be 
a  little  speech  by  itself,  that  might  be  taken  apart 
from  the  rest  and  delivered  independently. 

When  tlie  introduction,  each  of  the  topics^of  argu- 
ment or  remark,  and  the  conclusion,  are  thus  defi- 
nitely outlined  in  the  mind  ;  if  also  they  are  mutually 
related,  so  that  each  belongs  exactly  in  the  place  as- 
signed to  it,  and  could  not  well  come  earlier  and 
later  in  the  sermon ;  the  speaker  will  find  that  this 
logical  arrangement,  or  vertebration,  of  his  thought 
is  a  great  assistance  to  his  recollection.  Nor  does 
the  benefit  end  with  the  speaker.  What  was  easy  for 
him  to  remember,  will  be  much  easier  for  the  audi- 
ence to  carry  away  ;  a  very  desirable  result,  since  it 
is  to  be  feared  that  they  get  from  many  sermons  only 
a  very  general  impression  of  the  desirableness  of 
religion.  If  Ave  may  apply  to  a  sermon,  what  was 
originally  spoken  of  the  church,  the  "  whole  body  " 
of  the  discourse,  "  fitly  joined  together,  and  compact- 
ed by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth,"  maketh  in- 


ARRANGEMENT.  5  / 

crease  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ  in  love. 
The  minute  subdivisions  of  the  old  preachers,  in- 
deed, are  not  to  be  commended.  The  Puritan  di- 
vines, with  their  numberless  heads  of  remark,  are  not 
models  for  these  latter  days.  But  there  is  some  dif- 
ference between  having  too  many  articulations  and 
none  at  all.  ISTor,  ^s  we  said  before,  is  it  advisable 
•that  the  junctures  should  be  always  announced  ;  it  is 
only  essential  that  they  be  there,  giving  a  sinewy 
strength  and  backbone  to  the  discourse. 

It  is  possible,  also,  in  this  way,  more  easily  to 
preserve  the  proper  proportions  of  a  sermon,  for  a 
ready  means  exists  of  measuring  the  length  of  any 
part,  in  comparison  with  the  rest.  The  whole  may 
be  better  balanced,  and  obtain  that  symmetry  of 
ti'eatment,  which  is  the  first  rule  of  art. 

It  is  not  worth  while  to  spend  much  time  in  re- 
futation of  objections,  or  demolition  of  the  argu- 
ments of  noted  infidels.  The  people  care  very  little 
about  them,  and  often  are  first  made  aware  of  their 
existence  by  hearing  them  discussed  in  the  pulpit. 
But,  supposing  it  to  be  necessary  to  deal  with  objec- 
tions, the  advice  of  the  ancient  writers  is  good, 
namely,  to  put  the  "  confutation  "  after  the  positive 
arguments.  It  is  best,  first  to  establish  the  trutli, 
then,  if  need  be,  demolish  the  error  that  seeks  to 
overthrow  it.  After  the  doctrine  has  been  proved 
affirmatively,  it  is  easier  to  deal  with  objections,  and 
they  may  be  disposed  of,  in  a  more  summary  manner. 

It  is,  generally,  desirable  to  sum  up,  at  the  close, 


58  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

in  brief  and  weighty  words,  the  course  of  argument 
that  has  been  traversed  in  the  sermon.  This  may 
be  done  formally,  by  repetition  of  the  several  heads 
in  their  order ;  or  rhetorically,  by  weaving  them  all 
into  one  long,  cumulative  sentence ;  or  it  may  be 
that  some  striking  anecdote,  or  brilliant  comparison, 
will  sufficiently  embody  and  impress  the  princi]3le 
of  the  sermon  ;  or  a  pungent  appeal  may  carry  it- 
home  to  the  hearer.  Every  possible  device  must  be 
resorted  to,  to  prevent  the  appearance  of  sameness 
in  the  conclusion  of  successive  sermons.  Every 
variety  of  ending,  in  its  turn,  is  tlie  best. 

The  sermon  thus  composed  of  a  few  massive  and 
well-forged  links,  each  distinct  yet  closely  connected, 
strikes  upon  the  mind  of  the  hearer,  like  a  chain-shot, 
in  one  solid  and  resistless  impression. 


Y. 

ILLUSTEATIONS. 

We  have  called  the  illustrations  the  windows  of  a 
discourse,  openings  by  which  light  is  admitted  to  the 
subject.  More  appropriateb^,  we  might  call  them 
wings  of  speech,  sustaining  and  directing  its  flight. 
On  them  the  thought  flies  to  any  elevation  and  easily 
maintains  itself  there.  Any  abstract  truth  is  held 
painfully  by  the  mind,  but  it  has  been  said  that  man, 
civilized  or  savage,  loves  a  trope.  All  the  parables 
of  our  Lord  imply  a  close  resemblance  between  the 
world  of  matter  and  of  spirit.  "  Tlie  kingdom  of 
lieaven  is  like"  a  farmer  scattering  seed,  a  woman 
making  bread  or  sweeping  a  cottage,  a  merchant 
searching  the  market  for  pearls,  a  fisherman  casting 
his  net — like  any  commonest  act  of  men.  Spiritual 
truths  easily  throw  themselves  into  the  mold  of  daily 
experiences.  Had  we  eyes  to  see  it,  an  angel  looks 
out  from  every  bush,  setting  it  on  fire  with  divine 
truth. 

The  best  part  of  our  language  was  originally  a 
metaphor.  To  "  grasp  "  anything  by  the  mind,  was 
first  suggested  by  grasping  objects  in  the  hand.  An 
"eminent"  man  recalls  the  cliff  that  towers  above 
its  fellows.     All  ])oetry  is  based  on  the  apt  presenta- 


60  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

tioTi  of  refined  ideas  in  sensible  images,  giving  to 
airy  nothings  a  local  habitation. 

The  oratory  that  succeeds  best  with  the  people,  is 
of  the  kind  that  most  abounds  in  concrete  imagery. 
By  whatever  name  it  is  called,  trope,  metaphor, 
proverb,  parable,  anecdote,  illustration,  according  as 
it  is  brief  and  pithy,  or  drawn  out  in  a  more 
extended  comparison ;  it  is,  essentially,  the  same 
poetic  faculty  of  speech,  which  gives  it  wings  to 
men's  hearts  and  understandings.  Mi*.  Choate  is 
said  to  have  remarked  on  a  certain  occasion,  that 
nothing  is  too  learned  or  profound  for  a  popular 
audience,  only  it  should  always  l)e  expressed,  not  in 
abstract  phrase,  but  in  a  concrete  fashion ;  a  line 
metaphor,  a  sparkling  truism,  a  stinging  epithet,  a 
familiar  anecdote.  It  is  then  easily  understood  and 
remembered.  Probably  the  metaphor,  as  being  the 
compactest  form  of  illustration,  is  the  figure  of  speech 
in  which  the  orator  may  most  freely  indulge.  But, 
if  we  may  judge  by  the  practice  of  the  ablest 
speakers,  every  variety  of  illustration  may  l)e  used, 
as  occasion  demands. 

If  they  served  no  other  purpose,  parables  and 
extended  comparisons  are  useful  to  relieve  the  atten- 
tion of  an  audience.  To  listen  to  solid  argument 
for  half  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour  is,  for  men  dis- 
tracted by  business  cares  through  the  week,  almost 
an  impossibility.  They  require  to  relax  the  tension 
every  little  while,  and  nothing  serves  better  for  this 
than  a  pleasing  comparison.     Lord   Chatham    was 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  61 

accustomed  to  diminish  the  strain  produced  by  his 
lofty  and  impassioned  declamation,  upon  the  minds 
of  the  noble  lords,  by  eloquent  reference  to  the 
"  tapestry  which  adorns  these  walls,"  or  to  the 
remarkable  "  conflux  of  the  Rhone  and  Saone,"  or 
by  an  apt  quotation  from  some  familiar  classic. 
While  not  delaying  the  argument,  but  rather  further- 
ing it,  they  relieved  the  attention  or  caught  again 
the  attention  which  had  momentarily  wandered. 

Moreover,  nothing  serves  more  to  embellish  a  dis- 
course than  well-chosen  comparisons.  We  may 
quote  here  the  famous  metaphor  of  Junius,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  king's  dignity,  "The  feather  that  adorns 
the  royal  bird  supports  his  flight,"  for  it  may  equally 
be  applied  to  a  discourse,  the  illustrations  of  which 
are  both  wings  and  ornaments.  A  single  word  may 
sometimes  carry  to  the  hearer  a  whole  train  of  subtle 
and  grateful  associations.  It  is  redolent  of  a  noble 
poem,  or  fraught  with  scientific  suggestion,  or  fragrant 
with  the  incense  of  ages  of  prayer.  A  cultivated 
audience  relishes  fresh  allusion  to  the  literature  of  the 
day,  showing  the  preacher  to  be  up  with  the  times. 
A  devout  hearer  is  refreshed  by  some  deft  introduc- 
tion of  a  scriptural  quotation.  The  common  people 
gladly  hear  a  simile  that  recalls  the  homely  scenes  of 
daily  life.  Properly  guarded  against  too  great 
familiarity,  these  last  are  most  eflective  with  the 
majority  of  men. 

What  is  more  easily  comprehended  or  more 
universally  popular,  than  the  plain  metaphors,  and 


62  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

homely  comparisons  of  the  PilgrMs  Progress'^ 
What  is  more  universal  in  its  appeal  to  all  ages  and 
nations  than  the  poetry  of  Homer ;  which  is  full  of 
the  bleating  of  sheep  and  the  lowing  of  kine,  scream. - 
ing  cranes  and  clustering  bees,  laborers  binding 
sheaves,  and  wood-cutters  felling  trees,  women  at 
the  loom,  girls  preparing  the  bath,  Nausicaa  at  the 
laundry,  Ulysses  making  a  raft  ?  It  is  of  universal 
interest,  because  it  appeals  to  universal  experience. 

Thus  the  most  fertile  source  of  illustrations,  for 
both  embellishment  and  instruction,  and  the  one 
always  most  interesting  to  any  audience,  is  from  the 
everyday  experiences  of  ordinary  life.  It  is  this 
field  which  ofiers  such  inexhaustible  stores  to  the 
novelist,  and  renders  the  fiction  of  the  present  day 
so  widely  attractive.  The  people  never  tire  of  what 
reminds  them  of  home  or  business.  It  is,  also,  pre- 
cisely in  this  range  of  experiences  that  the  moral 
problems  arise  with  which  the  preacher  has  to  deal, 
and  upon  which  he  needs  to  throw  the  clearest  light. 
Every  accurately  drawn  picture  of  human  beings, 
buying,  selling,  toiling,  suffering,  in  love,  in  tempta- 
tion, in  sickness,  on  the  bed  of  death,  is  interesting 
in  itself,  and  illumines  some  of  the  manifold  rela- 
tions of  the  soul  to  God,  or  to  humanity. 

While  avoiding  anything  trivial  or  coarse,  the 
preacher  need  not  anxiously  strive  to  keep  a  sus- 
tained flight  of  eloquence,  or  of  brilliant  illustrations 
all  through  his  discourse.  It  is  better  for  a  little 
plainness  now  and  then.     No  matter  if  Homer  does 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  63 

nod  occasionally.  Too  great  richness  of  a  sermon, 
even  when  the  speaker's  genius  enables  him  to  attain 
it,  cloys  the  mind  like  a  too-dainty  repast.  Plain 
food  is  better  both  for  body  and  mind,  and  is  relished 
longer.  Cloth  of  gold  may  be  admired  in  a  show, 
but  it  would  be  cumbersome  to  wear.  Plain  thoughts, 
plainly  expressed  in  the  language  of  the  people, 
illustrated  by  homely  comparisons,  and  applied  to 
daily  needs,  are  most  fitted  for  edification.  Practi- 
cal men  are  apt  to  say  of  any  sentiment  of  unusual 
grandeur,  "  That  is  all  very  fine,  but  what  of  it  ? " 
But  if  it  presently  appear  as  applicable  to  the  ordin- 
ary business  of  life,  they  welcome  it.  The  over- 
ruling Providence  of  God  for  example,  guiding  the 
nations,  is  a  noble  subject  of  contemplation,  but 
somewhat  too  remote  for  immediate  impression ;  the 
same  Providence  helping  solve  the  query,  what  shall 
we  eat  and  what  shall  we  drink,  and  wherewith  shall 
we  be  clothed,  is  of  personal  interest  to  every  hearer. 
We  think  it  is  a  mistake  to  draw  comparisons  very 
frequently,  except  before  a  very  cultivated  congre- 
gation, from  foreign  travel,  or  from  profound  scien- 
tific investigations ;  for  the  reason  that  they  do  not 
really  illustrate  the  sermon,  as  the  people  are  already 
more  familiar  with  the  thought  than  with  the  object 
it  is  compared  to.  Occasionally  they  may  be  intro- 
duced for  ornament  or  dignity,  but  nothing  can 
really  illustrate  a  point,  unless  it  is  better  known 
than  the  point  itself  They  seem,  moreover,  to  argue 
how  learned  a  man   the  preacher  is,  or  how  widely 


64  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

he  has  traveled,  and  present  to  the  audience  the 
man  ratlier  than  his  theme.  The  time  wlien  he 
was  in  Wittemberg,  looking  for  the  door  where  the 
theses  w^ere  nailed,  or  tlie  liot  day  on  which  he 
climbed  the  Pyramids,  or  his  emotions  among  the 
Himalayas,  may  be  interesting  to  himself,  but  his 
congregation  care  very  little  about  them. 

Among  books,  of  course,  the  best  and  most  fertile 
source  of  illustrations  for  the  preacher  is  the  Bible. 
The  more  perfectly  he  remembers  every  part  of  it, 
the  more  amply  is  he  furnished  with  inexhaustible 
stores  of  appropriate  comparisons.  People  never  tire 
of  them.  They  readily  comprehend  them,  for  the 
Bible  is  the  people's  classic.  They  will  not  be  im- 
patient of  any  number  of  scriptural  instances,  for 
they  are  edifying  and  devotional  in  themselves,  as 
well  as  adapted  to  illumine  the  subject  under  discus- 
sion. If  the  preacher,  for  example,  is  speaking  of 
prayer,  what  better  illustrations  of  its  universality, 
or  its  power,  than  Abraham  praying  for  Sodom,  Eli- 
jah against  the  priests  of  Baal,  or  Christ  retiring  to 
the  mountain  to  refresh  His  spirit  by  its  serene  up- 
lifting ? 

'Next  to  the  Bible,  the  extempore  preacher  will 
find  his  account  in  acquaintance  with  hymnology 
and  the  best  of  popular  poetry.  An  apt  verse  of 
some  old  hymn  suitably  introduced  will  make  a  very 
tender  or  a  very  solemn  impression.  One  of  the 
easiest  and  most  affluent  extemporaneous  speakers, 
to  whom  it  has  been  our  fortune  to  listen,  has  in  this 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  65 

way  given  striking  effect  to  some  of  his  discourses. 
The  words  of  a  familiar  hymn  point  the  sharpened  ar- 
rows which  the  preacher  seeks  to  drive  home  upon 
the  conscience. 

For  dignity  of  sentiment  and  splendor  of  diction, 
there  is  none  like  Milton.  Some  of  the  noblest  pas- 
sages in  the  oratory  of  Burke  are  evidently  derived 
from  the  Paradise  Lost.  Other  great  orators  have 
sought  inspiration  in  the  same  source.  The  first 
book,  or  the  sixth,  describing  the  war  in  heaven  be- 
tween the  loyal  and  the  fallen  angels,  are  majestic 
sources  of  pulpit  imagery.  To  peruse  them  again 
and  again,  marking  the  lines  which  most  attract  our 
attention,  will  give  material  for  illustration  of  the 
most  impressive  kind. 

Whittier  and  Longfellow  have  given  the  world 
many  exquisite  statements  of  spiritual  and  ethical 
truth  that  should  not  be  neglected.  What  better 
image  of  the  effects  of  meditation  at  the  evening 
twilight  than  the  words — 

"And  the  night  shall  be  filled  with  music, 
And  the  cares  that  infest  the  day 
Shall  fold  their  tents,  like  the  Arabs, 
And  as  silently  steal  away  !" 

The  right  employment  of  anecdote  is  of  incalcu- 
lable advantage  to  one  who  would  attain  the  honors 
of  a  popular  speaker.  One  of  tlie  most  brilliant 
living  preachers,  whose  name  has  become  almost  a 
synonym  for  elegant  extemporaneous  speech,  is  quite 
famous  in  respect  of  the  number  and  aptness  of  the 

7* 


66  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

anecdotes  which  he  can  bring  to  a  festive  occasion. 
They  are  always  in  order  when  the  speaker's  object 
is  to  put  an  audience  in  good  humor,  or  to  fill  up 
the  allotted  time  with  remarks  that  shall  not  be  bur- 
densome from  their  weight.  After-dinner  speeches, 
festivals  commemorating  the  history  of  a  town  or  a 
church,  greetings  to  new  ministers,  commencements 
and  gatherings  of  alumni,  naturally  call  for  anec- 
dotes respecting  their  founders  and  ancestrj^,  and 
allow  an  almost  unlimited  range  of  story-telling  that 
may  possibly  be  connected  with  the  occasion  by  the 
slenderest  of  ties.  But  this  mode  of  illustration 
must  be  sparingly  employed,  if  at  all,  in  the  graver 
discourse  of  the  pulpit.  If  admitted,  the  circum- 
stance narrated  should  be  of  a  serious  or  pathetic 
kind,  and  be  clearly  apposite.  Anecdotes  of  a  hu- 
morous cast  detract  from  dignity  and  impress! ven ess 
more  than  they  can  possibly  add  in  piquancy.  Ac- 
counts of  our  own  conversion,  or  of  remarkable  con- 
versions we  have  witnessed,  have  high  warrant  for 
pulpit  use ;  they  are  more  serviceable,  however,  to 
"  pilgrims  of  a  night,"  like  evangelists  or  itinerants, 
than  to  settled  pastors,  because  once  told  their  effect- 
iveness is  gone  for  that  community. 

One  of  the  best  fields  for  the  extemporaneous 
preacher,  and  also  not  overworked  in  this  generation, 
is  in  the  history  of  the  church  and  the  biography  of 
God's  people.  Our  historic  sense  has  but  recently 
begun  to  be  cultivated,  in  connection  with  religion. 
For  a  long  time  Christian  people  have  been  disposed 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  67 

to  look  upon  tlie  Gospel  as  simply  an  individual 
affair.  If  they  read  the  Bible  and  obeyed  its  pre- 
cepts they  knew  all  they  cared  to  know  of  the  power 
of  Christianity.  But  the  Church  is  becoming  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  it  cannot  properly  understand 
the  Bible,  or  justly  appreciate  even  its  ethical  pre- 
cepts, until  they  are  seen  in  the  light  of  that  grand 
Christian  movement  w^hich  has  illuminated  and  ele- 
vated the  centuries  The  Gospel  is  more  highly  ven- 
erated as  it  is  seen  confronting  kings  and  molding 
nations  to  a  new  life.  Its  mighty  victories  over  ages 
of  darkness  are  a  triumphant  vindication  of  its  di- 
vine origin.  The  biographies  of  good  men  and 
saintl}^  women  of  ev^ery  nationality  and  of  every 
century  are  fertile  of  instruction  and  encouragement. 
The  history  of  the  Reformation  has  recently  been 
brought  vividly  before  the  Protestant  world  in  con- 
nection with  the  four-hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
birth  of  Luther.  It  has  yielded  an  abundant  store 
of  the  richest  materials  for  illustrating  and  enforcing 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith.  But  Luther 
was  not  the  sole  reformer,  nor  w^as  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury the  only  one  fraught  with  triumphs  of  grace. 
The  fourth  century  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
epochs  in  the  history  of  the  church,  and  has  been 
freshly  described  in  the  writings  of  Dean  Stanley. 
The  great  names  of  Constantino  and  Helena,  of 
Athanasius,  Hosius,  and  Jerome  suggest  endless 
illustrations  of  the  conquest  of  Christianity  over  j^a- 
ganism. 


68  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING-. 

In  more  recent  times  the  great  movement  begun 
by  Whitefield  and  the  Wesley s  is  an  instructive 
lesson  of  what  may  be  done  by  men  of  faith.  The 
preacher  may  not  wisely  omit  the  marvelous  revi- 
vals of  the  first  half  of  this  century.  Great  evan- 
gelists, like  I^ettleton  and  Finney,  were  captains  of 
the  Lord's  Host  in  many  a  hard-fought  campaign ; 
their  lives,  doctrines,  and  tlie  scenes  of  grace  in 
which  they  bore  a  part,  will,  if  skillfully  portrayed, 
quicken  the  pulse  of  any  congregation. 

The  great  missionary  enterprises  of  the  day  should 
be  closely  studied  by  every  minister.  More  than 
any  other  study,  they  are  an  inspiring  commentary 
on  the  Book  of  Acts.  They  show  the  doctrines  of 
Christ  in  conflict  with  the  same  foes  as  in  Apostolic 
times,  casting  down  idols,  and  bringing  the  heathen 
into  subjection  to  the  cross.  They  serve  to  stimu- 
late faith  and  hope.  They  easily  swell  our  dis- 
courses with  numerous  examples  of  heroic  endurance, 
childlike  piety,  ardent  zeal.  It  is  true,  that 
descriptions  of  missionary  life  and  its  glorious 
results,  have  become  so  common,  that  our  congrega- 
tions begin  to  be  a  little  tired  of  them,  so  that  they 
must  be  employed  with  some  prudence.  But  once 
or  twice  a  year,  at  the  missionary  collections,  or 
now  and  then  in  a  course  of  sermons  on  missions, 
they  may  be  adverted  to  with  excellent  effect. 

The  Hebrew  prophets  and  the  Psalms,  as  well  as 
the  parables  of  Christ,  have  taught  the  Christian 
world  to  love  Nature,  in  her  every  aspect,  and  to 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  69 

look  upon  her  as  an  exhaustless  source  of  illustration 
for  the  truths  of  reliction.  Abundant  stores  of 
imagery  may  be  drawn  from  the  prophetic  writings, 
or  may  be  suggested  by  their  methods.  That  God 
is  a  strong  tower  of  defense,  a  bulwark  against  our 
foes,  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land, 
like  the  hills  round  about  Jerusalem ;  that  wind  and 
storm,  fire  and  snow,  the  flood,  the  harvest,  the 
famine  or  the  locust,  are  instruments  of  his  august 
Providence;  that  blooming  deserts  and  renovated 
highways,  desolate  cities  rebuilt,  wild  animals  tamed, 
are  appropriate  emblems  of  the  moral  renovation  of 
mankind ;  are  thoughts  so  familiar  to  us  as  to  have 
almost  ceased  to  be  figures  of  speech.  For  they 
seem  to  be  plain  statements  of  fact. 

The  world  of  nature  is  teeming  with  illustrations 
of  this  sort,  and  the  preacher  has  sacred  authority 
for  using  them  as  freely  as  he  chooses.  What  more 
exquisite  picture,  than  in  Isaiah,  where  he  compares 
Israel  to  a  vineyard  in  a  very  fruitful  hill,  fenced 
about,  carefully  tended,  but  bringing  forth  only 
wild  grapes,  and  destined  to  be  destroyed  for  its 
unfruitfulness  !  And  Ezekiel's  valley  of  dry  bones, 
very  dry,  has  been  the  appropriate  illustration  of 
how  many  sermons ! 

While  avoiding  recondite  scientific  theories,  the 
preacher  will  find  a  vast  supply  of  entertaining  and 
instructive  illustrations  in  the  wonders  revealed  b}^ 
modern  science.  Behold  what  marvels  God  hath 
wrought  in   the  mysterious  laboratories  of  nature. 


70  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

where  were  fashioned  the  costly  gems,  the  gold- 
bearing  quartz,  the  unexhausted  beds  of  coal,  the 
oil  out  of  the  rocks  !  See  how  man  is  fulfilling  the 
promise  that  he  shall  have  dominion  over  the  world, 
because  he  is  the  son  of  God,  in  the  magic  use  of 
steam,  electricity,  the  actinic  solar  ray  !  The  heart 
throbs  with  exultation  at  each  new  discovery.  The 
preacher  can  always  arouse  the  interest  of  the  most 
sluggish,  by  a  simple  description  of  some  new 
enginery  of  human  progress,  a  telephone,  an  electric 
lamp,  a  surgical  appliance  for  alleviating  pain. 
These  are  facile  symbols  of  spiritual  truth,  and  so 
rapid  is  the  course  of  invention,  that  new  means  of 
comparison  are  always  arising. 

Some  clergymen,  very  unwisely,  make  frequent 
reference  to  science  and  to  scientific  men,  in  an 
antagonistic,  or  a  sarcastic,  manner;  as  if  there  were 
some  irreconcilable  difference  between  science  and 
religion,  or  as  if  scientists  as  a  body  were  opposed 
to  religious  truth.  This  is  altogether  uncalled  for. 
Religion  and  science  are  but  the  first  and  second 
volames  of  the  Divine  revelation.  God  has  revealed 
himself  to  men  both  by  his  word  and  his  works.  If 
men  have  been  unable  to  reconcile  the  two  revela- 
tions, in  any  particular,  it  is  merely  because  they 
have  not  yet  read  them  with  absolute  correctness. 
Such  disparaging  allusions  to  science,  in  the  pulpit, 
arise  from  a  jealousy  for  religion,  which  may  be 
sincere,  but  is  greatly  mistaken.  Tlie  trophies  of 
science  are  among  the  best  illustrations  of  the  power 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  71 

and  meaning  of  religious  truth,  to  be  found  any 
where. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  various  sources  already 
mentioned  that  a  speaker  who  is  well  informed,  and 
whose  mind  is  on  the  alert  for  sensible  images  of 
invisible  things,  will  be  rather  embarrassed  by  their 
abundance,  than  feel  any  deficiency.  In  fact,  he  will 
find  more  than  he  can  possibly  use,  and  his  labor 
will  be  in  selection  rather  than  in  seeking  for  them. 
He  will  reject  many  in  the  construction  of  every 
sermon,  and  choose  the  few  that  best  illumine  his 
thought.  It  is  well  to  remember  also,  in  this  con- 
nection, that  it  is  quite  possible  to  have  too  many 
illustrations,  as  was  before  remarked.  Too  much 
play  of  fancy,  too  great  affluence  of  imagery,  are 
incompatible  with  the  stern  and  profound  earnest- 
ness which  should  characterize  the  preacher.  The 
sword  may  be  of  Damascus  steel,  but  there  will  be 
few  ornaments  engraved  on  the  blade,  if  it  is  really 
intended  for  the  battle. 

Our  audiences,  it  is  true,  are  a  little  sated  with 
preaching,  and  often  require  more  embellishment  in 
the  sermon  than  is  warranted  by  good  taste,  or  by 
the  highest  effectiveness.  The  preacher,  who  must 
endeavor  to  secure  a  hearing  by  all  innocent  devices, 
will  be  constrained  to  yield  a  little  to  the  popular 
taste  for  fine  figures  and  eloquent  descriptions  ;  but 
he  will  seek  constantly  to  train  his  congregation  to 
a  simpler  and  severer  ideal  of  preaching.  The  object 
of  it  is  to  convert  men,  not  merely  to  please  them  ; 


72  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

any  ornament  that  in  tlie  least  mars  the  design,  or 
diverts  attention  from  it,  is  meretricious.  Ilhistra- 
tions  are  for  clearer  comprehension,  and  for  enforc- 
ing the  truth.  As  such  thej  are  useful  and  may  be 
unhesitatingly  employed.  But  when  they  are  intro- 
duced merely  for  ornament,  or  as  an  exercise  of  in- 
genuity, or  a  display  of  learning,  good  taste,  no  less 
than  earnest  piety,  condemns  them. 


VI. 
STYLE. 

There  is  in  English,  as  in  all  highly  developed 
languages,  a  very  sensible  difference  between  the 
style  in  favor  among  the  learned,  and  that  nsually 
employed  in  common  life.  The  one  abounds  in 
inversions,  lengthened  periods,  with  subordinate 
and  qualifying  clauses,  and  a  technical  terminology. 
Its  roots  are  largely  in  the  Latin,  partially  from  the 
Greek.  To  cite  extreme  instances:  Dr.  Johnson  used 
a  learned  style,  which  Macaulay  wittily  terms  John- 
sonese ;  on  the  other  hand,  De  Foe's  Robinson  Crusoe 
is  a  master-piece  of  the  popular,  or  Saxon,  style.  It 
need  hardly  be  said  that  the  latter  is  the  more  ap- 
propriate for  the  speaker. 

Among  the  great  orators  of  the  century  Daniel 
Webster  is  most  noted  for  his  plain,  manly,  and  pop- 
ular English.  If  it  be  the  preacher's  purpose  to  be 
understood,  rather  than  applauded,  he  will  always 
give  preference  to  the  direct,  simple,  and  energetic 
idioms  of  what  we  will  venture  to  call  the  Web- 
sterian  style.  They  are  eqnally  acceptable  to  the 
learned  and  unlearned.  They  may  be  the  vehicle 
of  plain  fact  or  of  majestic  argument.     If  St.  Paul 


74  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

would  rather  speak  in  church  "  five  words  with  his 
understanding,  that  by  his  voice  he  might  teach 
others  also,  than  ten  thousand  words  in  an  unknown 
tongue,"  it  certainly  is  desirable  to  exclude  from  our 
pulpits  a  multitude  of  terms  which  often  find  admis- 
sion. They  may  possibly  be  an  accurate  expression 
of  the  preacher's  ideas,  but  convey  no  meaning  to 
one-half  of  the  congregation.  Luther  once  said  he 
preached  with  no  reference  to  the  learned  doctors 
and  professors  in  his  church,  of  whom  there  might 
be  forty,  and  gave  all  his  attention  to  edifying  the 
people,  of  whom  there  were  two  thousand. 

Dr.  Wayland,  in  his  Letters  on  the  Ministry  of 
the  Gospel^  is  quite  explicit  on  this  point.  "  I  fear 
that  the  tendency  of  the  pulpit  is  to  a  style  which, 
in  a  great  measure,  fails  to  accomplish  the  purpose 
for  which  it  is  intended The  tendency  of  habitu- 
ally using  written  preparations  is  to  the  formation  of 
a  written  instead  of  a  spoken  style  ;  to  cultivate  a 
habit  of  writing  for  the  press  instead  of  uttering 
our  thoughts  to  an  audience.  It  is  not  the  language 
of  ordinary  thought  or  ordinary  conversation,  audit 
is  as  if  we  addressed  them  in  a  foreign  tongue,  which 
they  only  imperfectly  understand." 

To  this  agree  the  ancient  canons  of  eloquence. 
Thus  Aristotle  says  (Khet.  3,  10-12) :  "  The  receiv- 
ing information  with  ease  is  naturally  pleasing  to 
all ;  and  words  are  significant  of  something,  so  that 
all  those  words  whatsoever  which  produce  knowledge 
in  the  mind  are  most  pleasing.     Now  the  foreign  ex- 


STYLE.  75 

pressions  are  unintelligible,  and  words  of  common 
use  we  already  understand.  But  the  metaphor,  in 
the  highest  degree,  produces  this  effect.  The  style, 
then,  and  the  arguments  which  render  the  act  of  in- 
formation rapid,  are  elegant." 

The  whole  training  of  a  liberally-educated  minis- 
ter is  away  from  the  plain  idioms  of  common  life. 
His  study  of  the  classics  has  imbued  him  with  ad- 
miration for  the  noble  words  and  resounding  periods 
of  those  finished  tongues.  His  researches  in  scien- 
tific theology  have  supplied  a  diction  bristling  with 
the  phrases  of  the  schools.  The  poets  have  minis- 
tered to  the  elegance  of  his  speech,  retaining  many 
words  and  idioms  not  often  heard  in  conversation. 
In  the  Scriptures,  along  with  much  plain  Saxon, 
there  is  combined  a  large  number  of  archaic  idioms 
and  obsolescent  words.  .  All  this  learned  and  culti- 
vated language  has  been  the  vehicle  of  his  thoughts 
for  many  years.  His  written  compositions  and  trial 
sermons  were  successful,  or  otherwise,  according  as 
they  dealt  in  the  high  themes  of  philosophy,  and 
were  clothed  in  a  classic  elegance  of  diction. 

To  a  certain  extent  this  is  as  it  should  be.  The 
preacher  is  sent  to  the  learned  and  refined,  as  well 
as  to  others,  and  should  be  prepared  to  address  them 
in  the  style  to  which  they  are  accustomed,  else  they 
will  vote  him  rude  and  uncultivated.  If  it  should 
be  his  fortune  to  address  this  class  all  through  his 
ministry  we  should  counsel  him  to  write  and  read 
every  word  he  utters  from  the  pulpit.     Only  so  can 


76  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

he  satisfy  the  critical  accuracy  of  cultivated  ears  and 
the  exactions  which  they  inevitably  impose  upon  the 
minister.  But  this  class,  although  very  influential 
in  the  church,  is  not  the  most  numerous,  nor  by  any 
means  the  class  which  most  needs  to  be  considered 
by  a  preacher  who  is  anxious  to  do  all  that  he  can 
for  Christ.  There  are  the  little  ones  of  every  flock ; 
there  are  the  active  businessmen,  who  have  not  been 
much  to  school,  but  were  educated  by  aftairs  ;  there 
are,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  the  poor,  needing  the  consola- 
tions of  the  Gospel.  There  are  also  a  multitude  of 
young  men,  who  may  understand,  possibly,  a  learned 
diction  but  are  not  interested  in  it  nor  moved  by  it. 
These  classes  will  be  best  reached  and  oftenest  bene- 
fited by  "their  own  tongue,  wherein  they  were  born;" 
the  plain  vernacular  of  common  life. 

Of  course,  this  may  be  employed  in  a  written  ser- 
mon, but  it  will  most  easily  and  naturally  flow  from 
the  lips  of  one  who  is  speaking,  as  men  everywhere 
speak  to  men,  without  previous  elaboration  by  the 
pen.  It  is  evident  that  the  solemnities  of  public 
service  require  great  caution  in  avoiding  trite  or 
vulgar  expressions,  any  approximation  to  slang,  any- 
thing offensive  to  nice  ears.  This  is  entirely  possible 
while  the  style  remains  closely  adherent  to  the  speech 
of  the  people.  The  language  of  Bryant's  Iliad 
and  Odyssey,  for  example,  is  almost  purely  Saxon, 
and  yet  no  man  was  more  fastidious  than  he  in  the 
use  of  words.  These  translations,  therefore,  are  fine 
specimens  of  a  plain  yet  elegant  style,  and  a  repeated 
perusal  of  them  would  be  of  no  little  advantage. 


STYLE.  77 

The  extemporeanous  speaker  needs  to  have 
full  command  of  a  flexible  and  varied  grammat- 
ical structure.  In  this  respect  the  English  lan- 
guage ofters  fewer  difliculties  than  some  others,  as, 
for  example,  the  French,  which,  as  M.  Bautain  in- 
forms us  in  his  Art  of  Extemporaneous  Speaking, 
allows  of  only  one  class  of  terminations  for  its  pe- 
riods. In  English  the  sentence  may  be  direct  or  in- 
verted, the  adjective  before  or  after  the  noun,  subor- 
dinate clauses  may  be  introduced  without  confusion, 
the  period  end  with  a  long  or  short  word,  as  chance 
may  dictate.  One  who  has  learned  the  capacities  of 
our  language  and  is  able  to  employ  them  with  facility, 
need  seldom  be  at  a  loss  for  the  means  of  extricating 
himself  from  any  grammatical  difficulty.  Although 
a  speaker  cannot  pause  as  a  writer  does  to  consider 
or  recast  his  sentences,  by  some  painstaking  effort  he 
will  be  able  to  fashion  them  on  the  instant  with  suf- 
ficient accuracy. 

But  what  class  of  studies  will  conduce  most  readily 
to  this  very  desirable  result  ?  How  can  a  speaker  so 
train  himself  as  to  have  no  fears  in  this  respect,  but 
be  able  to  speak,  if  necessary,  hour  after  hour, 
without  one  ill-constructed  period  or  any  hesitation 
for  an  appropriate  phrase  ?  Many  public  men  have 
had  this  facility,  as,  for  example,  William  Pitt. 
Now,  the  means  which  were  employed  by  him  in 
gaining  his  extraordinary  command  over  the  resources 
of  his  native  tongue,  are  detailed  by  Professor  Good- 
rich in   a  most   instructive   chapter  of  the  British 


78  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

Eloquence.  Mr.  Pitt  was  a  close  student  of  the 
classics  and  had  read  them  all  before  entering  Par- 
liament. "  His  mode  of  translating  the  classics  to 
his  tutor  was  a  peculiar  one.  He  did  not  construe 
an  author  in  the  ordinary  way,  but  after  reading  a 
passage  of  some  length  in  the  original  he  turned  it 
at  once  into  regular  English  sentences,  aiming  to 
give  the  ideas  with  great  exactness  and  to  express 
himself  at  the  same  time  with  idiomatic  accuracy 
and  ease.  Such  a  course  was  admirably  adapted 
to  the  formation  of  an  English  style,  distinguished 
at  once  for  copiousness,  force,  and  elegance.  To  this 
early  training  Mr.  Pitt  always  ascribed  his  extraor- 
dinary command  of  language." 

Lord  Coleridge,  in  a  recent  address  to  American 
students,  advocated  the  same  means  of  discipline. 
Whatever  else  the  classics  may  do,  o.r  fail  to  do,  for 
the  student,  they  will,  if  rightly  used,  make  him  a 
proficient  in  the  use  of  English  undefiled.  Every 
paragraph  rendered  is  a  short  extempore  speech. 
Every  word  "  overset,"  as  the  Germans  say,  into  his 
native  speech  is  a  lesson  in  synonyms  and  exact 
meanings.  This  practice,  continued  for  a  few  minutes 
every  day,  will  do  more  to  give  a  perfect  command 
both  of  the  grammatical  construction  of  the  lan- 
guage and  its  individual  words  than  any  other 
means,  for  it  concentrates  attention  upon  the  very 
point  most  imperative  to  a  speaker,  so  far  as  expres- 
sion is  concerned,  namely,  a  facility  so  complete  as 
to  be  unconscious  of  stating  all  possible  ideas  in  exact 
and  polished  periods. 


STYLE.  79 

But  a  hard-working  parish  clergyman  may  object 
here  that  he  has  forgotten  his  classics,  or  has  no 
time  for  them.  This  is  true  very  likely  ;  but  at  least 
every  preacher  must  be  acquainted  with  the  Greek 
•Testament.  If,  then,  he  will  make  a  daily  resolution 
not  only  to  understand  it,  but  to  turn  a  few  verses 
off-hand  into  the  choicest  English  he  is  master  of,  he 
will  not  only  gain  a  better  comprehension  of  its  in- 
€stimable  truths,  but  will  be  able  to  preach  them 
wdth  facility  and  force. 

All  the  authorities  recommend  writing,  also, 
habitual  and  copious,  as  productive  of  finished 
speech.  It  can  never  be  intermitted  by  a  speaker 
who  would  cultivate  all  the  possibilities  of  language. 
But  if  a  young  preacher  accepts  the  advice  indicated 
in  our  first  chapter,  to  write  in  full  one-half  of  his 
sermons,  he  will  have  done,  before  his  life  is  ended, 
writing  enough  to  satisfy  the  most  exacting  con- 
science. And  he  will  have  this  advantage  over  one 
who  writes  all  of  his  sermons,  be  they  many  or  few, 
that  he  has  more  time  and  energy  for  writing  with 
care.  Hasty  and  slipshod  composition  is  a  harm 
rather  than  a  benefit  to  style.  To  write  always  as 
well  as  we  can  is  the  road  to  ultimate  improvement. 
Yet,  undue  anxiety  on  this  point  is  a  useless  burden. 
To  a  youth  who  lamented  that  he  could  not  satify 
himself  witli  his  composition  Florus  said,  "  Do  you 
wish  to  write  better  than  you  can  ? "  Quintilian, 
relating  the  incident,  recommends  to  write  slowly  at 
first,  and  as  well  as  possible  ;  facility,  he  says,  will 
come  with  practice. 


80  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

For  fluency  and  copiousness  of  speech  a  great 
orator  has  recommended  a  wide  reading  of  history. 
This  has  already  been  spoken  of  as  a  most  valuable 
source  of  illustrations,  and  it  is  equally  useful  in  re- 
gard of  the  point  we  are  now  considering.  The 
reason  is  that  if  there  are  in  the  mind  a  large  num- 
ber of  historical  facts  and  instances  pertinent  to  tlie 
discussion  of  moral  truth,  the  words  in  which  to 
express  them  can  never  be  far  to  seek.  Moreover, 
history  is  largely  made  up  of  the  portraits  of  re- 
markable men  and  women,  and  of  their  deeds  for 
good  or  evil  on  the  great  stage  of  the  world.  Their 
personal  characteristics,  secret  springs  of  action,  and 
all  the  arguments  on  either  side  which  are  elicited 
by  changes  in  government  and  society,  are  clearly 
unfolded  by  the  best  historians.  The  mind  becomes, 
as  it  were,  saturated  with  nice  discriminations  of 
character  and  conduct.  Its  thoughts,  for  days  to- 
gether, are  upon  approval  or  condemnation  of  the 
mighty  men  who  have  made  the  ages  re-echo  with 
their  achievements.  The  footsteps  of  the  Lord,  mov- 
ing over  the  troubled  waters  of  human  afl:airs,  and 
making  them  quiet  with  a  great  calm,  are  evident  to 
the  eye  of  faith.  Thus  the  mind  is  filled  with  images 
of  moral  and  religious  truth,  acted  on  a  heroic  scale 
and  through  periods  long  enough  to  show  the  ulti- 
mate issues.  The  intellect  of  the  preacher  is  stimu- 
lated by  great  thoughts  and  illustrious  actions.  It 
perceives  fresh  views  and  has  a  greater  amplitude  of 
emotions.     In  this  way  history  becomes  a  help  to 


STYLE.  81 

fertility  of  thought  and  that  copiousness  which  does 
not  consist  of  an  abundance  of  words  merely,  but 
in  abundance  of  sentiments  appropriately  expressed . 

There  are  many  hours  in  which  the  most  energetic 
man  is  incapable  of  severe  stud3^  His  mind  is 
weary.  It  can  produce  nothing.  It  cannot  even 
attend  to  serious  reading.  But  it  may  be  refreshed 
by  works  of  travel,  biography,  and  general  liter- 
ature. We  would,  however,  caution  the  extempore 
preacher  to  avoid  that  large  class  of  popular  writ- 
ings, which  have  a  wide  circulation  because  of  low 
dialect  and  profane  jests.  Apart  from  any  question 
of  morals,  he  must  guard  his  speech  against  any  vul- 
garity. If  the  latter  is  never  in  his  mind,  it  will  not 
be  on  his  tongue.  In  this  connection,  also,  it  is  wise 
to  remember  the  precept  of  Dr.  Johnson,  to  habitually 
employ  the  best  language,  for  a  habit  of  elegant 
speech  on  all  ordinary  occasions  is  a  great  assistance 
to  elegance  in  public. 

A  diction  studiously  plain  and  practical  may  be, 
occasionally,  ornamented  with  excellent  effect  by 
rare  or  antique  words,  whether  drawn  from  the 
Bible,  or  from  the  early  poets.  If  only  used  in  such 
a  connection  that  they  can  be  readily  understood, 
the  humblest  audience  is  pleased  to  hear  them. 
Scientific  terminology  may,  also,  be  employed,  but 
it  is  very  essential  that  it  be  used  with  precision,  or 
some  critical  hearer  will  presently  remind  the 
preacher  of  the  vaulting  ambition  which  o'erleaps 
itself. 

There  is  a  danger  besetting  all  extempore  speak- 


^2  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

ers,  and  to  be  anxiously  avoided :  of  indulging  too 
freely  in  a  declamatory  style.  The  speaker  is  always 
under  a  considerable  degree  of  excitement,  and  in 
this  condition  it  is  easy  to  be  too  emphatic,  to  make 
sweeping  charges  against  denominations  or  classes  of 
men,  to  state  generaltruths  without  limitation,  utter 
frequent  apostrophes,  use  startling  metaphors,  or  to 
speak  in  a  high  monotone  and  as  loudly  as  possible. 
These  are  faults  to  be  shunned  with  the  greatest 
care.  They  distress  refined  hearers.  They  add 
nothing  to  the  impressiveness  of  the  sermon,  but 
rather  detract  from  it.  A  calm,  unexcited  style  is 
always  preferable.  More  than  the  whirlwind  or  the 
thunder,  it  is  the  still,  small  voice  that  reaches  the 
heart.  Probably  the  best  means  of  avoiding  this 
fault  is  to  have  a  variety  of-  clearly-defined  points  in 
the  discourse.  They  make  natural  breaks  in  the 
delivery.  One  is  finished  before  another  is  taken 
up.  Should  the  preacher  accidentally  reach  too 
great  a  momentum  in  the  development  of  one  point, 
and  become  excited  to  a  declamatory  fervor,  he  is 
checked  and  brought  to  his  feet  again  by  the  neces- 
sity of  stopping  to  explain  and  argue  the  next  one. 
A  weighty  and  argumentative  discourse  is  seldom 
declamatory.  Diligent  preparation  of  separate 
topics  prevents  soaring  on  the  pinions  of  excited 
rhapsody. 

An  analogous  and  equally  grave  defect  is :  exu- 
berance of  language,  combined  with  paucity  of  sen- 
timents.    This  is  a  strong  temptation  to  one  w^ho 


STYLE.  83 

must  speak,  when  the  hour  arrives,  whether  he 
wishes  or  not ;  but  making  remarks  to  "  fill  up  the 
time  "  is  an  abomination  that  demands  abatement, 
in  the  prajer-meeting  or  in  the  pulpit.  St.  Augus- 
tine speaks  of  certain  heretical  teachers  of  his 
day,  who  gracefully  presented  a  golden  cup  with 
nothing  in  it.  This  is  not  a  fault  of  heretics  only. 
Among  the  orthodox,  one  may  find  men  who  have  a 
marvelous  gift  of  words,  and,  seemingly,  little  else. 
It  is  easy  for  them  to  arise,  anywhere,  and  pour  forth 
a  flood  of  pious  expressions,  not  unpleasing  to  hear ; 
but  if  one  stops  to  analyze  them,  there  is  seen  to  be 
little  but  the  words.  There  is  behind  them  no 
considerate  thought,  or  exact  information,  or  even 
genuine  feeling.  It  is  this  class  of  preachers  who 
have  done  much  to  bring  the  art  of  extemporaneous 
speaking  into  contempt.  Practical  men  are  impa- 
tient of  a  deluge  of  words.  They  would  rather  listen 
to  a  halting  speaker  who  gives  them  the  facts,  than 
to  the  most  graceful  speaker  who  does  not.  If  the 
preacher  never  speaks  without  having  something 
useful  to  communicate,  and  if,  knowing  that  he 
must  speak,  he  is  careful  to  prepare  a  suflicient  body 
of  thought,  there  v/ill  be  little  danger  of  empty 
loquacity. 

The  Spanish  proverb,  contemptuously  describing 
a  prolix  writer,  says :  "  He  leaves  no  ink  in  his  ink- 
stand." Of  a  verbose  speaker,  we  might  similarly 
say  :  "  He  leaves  no  words  in  his  vocabulary." 

Probably  no  more  concise  or  useful  precept  for 


84  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

avoiding  faults  of  this  sort  can  be  found  than  is  con- 
tained in  the  mediaeval  saying : 

'^Qui  hene  vult  fari,  debet  bene  prcEmeditari:''''  who 
would  speak  well,  should  well  premeditate.  Pro- 
tracted meditation  of  the  subject  not  only  supplies 
an  affluence  of  ideas,  but  clothes  them  in  lit  words 
which  rise  duly  and  unsought  to  the  lips  as  the 
speech  progresses. 

As  an  aid  to  the  forming  of  an  effective,  popular 
style,  it  is  of  undoubted  service  to  hear  as  many  as 
possible  of  the  best  orators.  To  imitate  others  is 
natural,  and  unconsciously  we  may  catch  something 
of  their  tone  or  manner,  l^or  should  a  preacher 
confine  himself  to  hearing  those  of  his  own  profession. 
It  will  benefit  him  to  listen  to  a  wide  range  of 
oratory.  Lecturers,  political  speakers,  able  lawyers 
addressing  the  jury,  debates  in  legislatures  and  in 
Congress,  conventions  of  bankers,  and  meetings  for 
the  advancement  of  science,  constantly  recurring  in 
our  wide-awake  country,  are  invaluable  helps  to  one 
who  would  learn  the  art  of  extem]3ore  speech.  The 
student  finds  that  there  are  many  different  ways  of 
speaking,  equally  effective.  He  sees  that  very  dis- 
tinguished men  make  mistakes,  and  hesitate  in  their 
speech,  and  concludes  that  he  need  not  be  crushed  by 
his  own  deficiencies.  The  most  perfect  orators  will 
secure  his  admiration,  and  inspire  an  ardor  to  equal 
them.  The  discussion  of  a  variety  of  great  interests 
gives  breadth  and  vigor  to  his  thinking.  For  these 
reasons,  all  good  speakers  are  to  be  heard  as  often 
as  circumstances  permit. 


STYLE.  85 

Among  the  practical  precepts  for  cultivating  a 
popular  style  of  speech,  there  is  none  more  within 
the  province  of  a  minister,  than  that  which  urges 
him  to  hold  frequent  conversations  with  men,  on 
serious  subjects.  Says  Lord  Bacon,  "  Eeading 
maketh  a  full  man,  conference  a  ready  man, 
and  writing  an  exact  man."  Now  he  who  is 
a  recluse,  shut  up  among  his  books  all  the  w^eek, 
will  hardly  find  it  easy  to  address  the  people 
"  without  book  "  on  Sunday.  He  may  be  a  "  full 
man  "  and  an  "  exact  man,"  but  will  be  very  far 
from  being  a  "ready  man."  On  the  other  hand,  if 
he  has  seen  more  or  less  of  his  fellow-men  through 
the  week,  and  conversed  with  them  freely  and 
seriously,  his  mind  has  been  all  along  in  the  precise 
attitude  of  public  speaking,  and  he  is  practising 
every  day  what  he  must  do  on  Sunday. 

And  we  feel  no  hesitation  in  urging  upon  every 
clergyman  this  habit  of  free  and  constant  conversa- 
tion on  religious  themes,  because  that  is  what  is 
also  required  by  a  proper  performance  of  parish 
duty.  Every  visit  to  a  parishioner  affords  an  oppor- 
tunity of  speaking  words  fraught  with  spiritual 
advice  or  consolation.  By  the  bedside  of  the  sick  or 
dying,  all  his  resources  of  faith  and  hope  will  be 
frequently  demanded.  Business  men  often  need  the 
clearing  up  of  some  perplexed  question  of  moral  or 
social  duty,  as  of  Sunday  laws,  or  temperance  legis- 
lation, or  dealing  with  paupers.  Little  children 
welcome  tlie  kindly  and  sympathetic  words  of  an 


86  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

admired  pastor.  Thus,  in  the  direct  line  of  ordinary 
clerical  duty  there  is  ample  scope  and  verge  for  the 
practice  of  that  ready  and  apposite  address,  which 
leads  men  gladly  into  the  presence  of  their  God,  and 
renders  the  public  service  of  the  Sabbath  both  a 
delight  and  an  edification.  And  it  will  have  none 
the  less  effect  in  the  pulpit,  but  rather  more,  if  what 
he  says  from  the  holy  desk  matches  what  he  has 
already  said  at  their  homes  during  the  week. 


YII. 
MEMOKY. 

To  one  unfamiliar  with  the  methods  by  which  a 
trained  speaker  holds  the  substance  of  his  speech  in 
his  memory,  and  keeps  it  so  fresh  as  to  be  ready  for 
use  on  the  instant,  the  feat  seems  difficult  or  well-nigh 
impossible.  But  the  memory  is  capable  of  surprising 
cultivation.  While  there  is  a  great  difference  between 
men  in  regard  to  this  faculty,  any  intelligent  person  can 
preserve  a  fresh  remembrance  of  a  far  greater  num- 
ber of  things  than  would  at  first  be  supposed.  Two 
conditions  are  necessary,  firstly,  interest  in  the  mat- 
ter ;  secondly,  familiarity  with  it. 

No  one  can  remember  the  things  that  do  not 
engage  his  attention.  He  surveys  them  with  a  list- 
less indifference,  which  results  in  no  impression  on 
the  mind.  Strange  and  unfamiliar  objects  also  are 
hard  to  recall,  if  numerous,  because  the  intellect 
cannot  classify  them  with  sufficient  rapidity.  But 
what  is  of  great  interest  to  any  one  and  also  perfectly 
familiar  in  its  general  outline  can  always  be  remem- 
bered with  ease,  however  multiplied  the  details  may 
be.  The  postman  carries  hundreds  of  names  in  his 
recollection,  and  picks  out  the  mail  belonging  to  his 
district  as  rapidly  as  he  can  sort  it.     The  clerk  of  a 


83  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

large  store  remembers  the  location  of  his  goods,  their 
quality  and  prices  ;  the  physician  a  multitude  of  pre- 
scriptions ;  the  lawyer  a  wide  range  of  precedents. 
Each  remem.bers  that  which  most  interests  him  and 
is  most  familiar  from  constant  repetition. 

Mrs.  Oliphant,  in  a  recent  paper  on  the  charac- 
teristics of  Queen  Victoria,  affirms  that  the  Queen, 
wdth  royal  courtesy,  never  forgets  any  one  that  has 
been  presented  to  her. 

Lord  Macaulay  tells,  in  one  of  his  letters,  of  his 
habit  of  repeating  from  memory  large  portions  of 
Paradise  Lost,  both  as  an  exercise  of  the  faculty  and 
by  way  of  passing  the  time.  Once,  on  a  journey  to 
Dublin,  across  the  channel,  feeling  indisposed  to 
sleep,  he  sat  upon  the  deck  of  the  steamer  and  re- 
peated for  diversion  a  large  portion  of  it,  ending  the 
eighth  book  as  he  saw  the  lights  of  Dublin  harbor. 
These  are  cited  as  examples  of  prodigious  memory, 
cultivated  in  particular  directions.  It  is  not  claimed 
that  they  are  easy  of  imitation,  but  they  prove  to 
what  an  amazing  extent  this  faculty  can  be  strength- 
ened, if  suitable  care  is  given  to  its  improvement. 

TJie  memory  is  capacious  of  that  which  has  once 
become  familiar.  It  has  pigeon-holes,  so  to  speak, 
already  prepared,  in  which  may  be  stored  new  facts 
or  thoughts,  under  their  respective  categories.  In 
virtue  of  this  principle  an  extemporaneous  speaker, 
after  a  while,  finds  that  there  is  no  difficulty  what- 
ever in  remembering  anything  he  has  decided  to  say. 
At  first  there  may  be  some  trouble,  as  in  all  begin- 


MEMORY.  89 

nings,  but  the  trouble  diminishes  with  practice,  until 
it  finally  disappears,  and  the  memory  acts  spontane- 
ously, almost  unconsciously.  He  is,  presumably, 
speaking  of  themes  which  intensely  interest  him. 
They  have  been  the  themes  of  study,  meditation,  and 
prayer  for  years,  in  the  seminar}^,  and  in  liis  pastorate. 
His  reading  converges  upon  them.  He  has  written 
much  on  every  topic  likely  to  be  treated  in  the  pulpit. 
He  has  recast  it  in  his  mind  many  times,  stated  and 
illustrated  it  in  every  conceivable  way  ;  has  discussed 
it  in  long  walks  with  hi& fellow-students,  and  debated 
it  among  his  brother  ministers.  The  substance  of 
the  Gospel  becomes  in  this  way  as  familiar  to  a  min- 
ister as  the  reports  of  celebrated  cases  are  to  a  law- 
yer, or  the  symptoms  of  diseases  to  a  physician. 
Presently,  all  these  facts,  thoughts,  texts,  arguments 
will  begin  to  fall  into  their  proper  classification  in  his 
mind.  Provided  his  thinking  be  close,  his  ideas 
definite,  his  information  precise,  the  memory  will  be- 
come a  vast  magazine  of  thoughts,  each  labeled  and 
put  in  its  appropriate  niche.  If  only  the  magazine  is 
kept  full  by  persistent  and  well-directed  study,  there 
need  be  no  fear  of  a  deficiency  at  any  particular  time. 
In  addition  to  this  general  furnishing  of  the  mem- 
ory, which,  indeed,  an}^  minister  requires  before  he 
can  even  write  a  sermon  w4th  ease,  the  special  re- 
quirements of  extempore  speaking  will  soon  train 
the  faculty  to  a  degree  which  could  not  have  been 
believed  without  the  trial.  The  speaker  is  compelled 
to  exercise  his  memory,  and  it  grows  strong  by  use. 


90  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

Suppose  now  that  he  sets  about  to  prepare  a  new 
sermon.  It  will  be  on  a  theme  he  has  often  handled, 
but  he  intends  to  weave  certain  novel  features  into 
the  present  treatment,  use  some  new  illustrations, 
make  a  few  fresh  applications  of  it.  Having  fixed 
the  novel  features  in  his  memory,  by  conning  them, 
as  one  would  learn  a  lesson  at  school,  so  firmly  that 
no  accident  can  dislodge  them,  or,  if  there  be  any 
doubt,  having  notes  to  be  used  in  case  of  necessity  ; 
under  each  division  he  jjlaces  in  his  mind  or  on  the 
brief  the  argument  of  that  head,  certain  facts  to  be 
stated,  certain  metaphors  to  be  employed. 

At  first,  the  preacher  will  find  that  some  of  these 
subordinate  points  escape  him.  The  remedy  is  to 
provide  many  more  than  he  can  use,  as  the  sports- 
man, for  unforeseen  emergencies,  carries  many  more 
cartridges  than  he  actually  needs.  After  a  while 
he  will  be  so  trained  to  recollect  his  points  that 
seldom  will  any  important  thought  elude  him.  But 
if  such  a  thing  should  happen,  he  will  not  waste 
any  time  in  theefi'ort  to  recall  it,  but  will  invent  an- 
other to  take  its  place.  Public  speaking  is  partly 
from  memory,  partly  from  immediate  invention,  the 
speaker  himself  can  hardly  tell  which ;  for  both 
memory  and  invention  assist  in  the  formation  of 
every  paragraph. 

Quintilian  recommends  a  little  note-book  contain- 
ing memorabilia,  to  be  held  in  the  hand  by  any 
speaker  who  lacks  confidence  in  his  memory.  It  can 
easily  be  referred  to  should  occasion  demand,  but  the 


MEMORY.  9 1 

less  dependence  there  is  placed  upon  it  the  more  ten- 
acious the  memory  will  become.  Still  there  are 
many  things  which  are  best  read  from  notes.  We 
once  heard  Charles  Sumner  deliver  an  eloquent  ora- 
tion before  a  crowded  assembly.  He  spoke  from  a 
full  mind,  had  probably  written  the  speech,  but  did 
not  appear  to  be  recitiiig  it,  but  rather  to  be  speak- 
ing as  the  moment  prompted.  He  had  frequent  occa- 
sion to  quote  public  documents,  and  the  speeches  of 
other  statesmen,  or  matters  of  the  kind,  and  when 
the  time  came  drew  out  a  little  book,  with  newspaper 
cuttings  pasted  in,  and  turning  to  the  place,  read 
what  he  wished.  Then  putting  away  the  book,  he 
continued  his  speech.  The  pause  made  in  consult- 
ing his  notes  was  not,  by  any  means,  ungrateful  to 
the  audience.  The  preacher  can  introduce  quota- 
tions of  some  length,  scriptural  passages,  statistical 
reports,  in  a  similar  way.  To  attempt  to  remember 
them  involves  labor,  and,  besides,  gives  an  appear- 
ance of  artificiality ;  for  all  know  that  such  things 
would  have  to  be  learned  before  they  could  be  re- 
peated. 

It  is  poor  policy  to  attempt  to  preserve  in  the 
memory  the  exact  words  of  a  discourse.  It  requires 
a  painful  effort,  and,  especially,  it  confines  attention 
to  minutiae,  when  the  mind  should  be  expending  its 
force  upon  the  principal  ideas.  A  few  words,  acci- 
dentally dropped,  will  disarrange  the  whole  sermon. 
How  difficult  it  is  to  learn  any  composition  word 
for  word,  will  be  appreciated  by  any  one  who  tries 


92  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

to  commit  to  memory  even  a  short  psalm.  Some 
men  have  claimed,  it  is  true,  to  be  able  to  repeat  a 
sermon,  after  two  or  three  readings,  but,  if  so,  their 
memory  was  an  exceptional  one.  And  we  are  in- 
clined, respectfully,  to  differ  with  them,  as  to  the 
fact  of  their  repeating  the  exact  words.  A  careful 
observer  who  should  have  the  manuscript  in  his 
hand,  and  follow  the  delivery,  w^ould  find,  we  think, 
many  discrepancies  in  the  text.  There  might  be  a 
general  correspondence  between  the  written  and 
spoken  discourses,  but  it  is  very  unlikely  that  they 
would  agree  exactly,  even  for  a  single  paragraph. 
That  is,  having  written  out  his  sermon,  he  proceeds 
to  extemporize  another  on  the  same  subject ;  which, 
as  we  have  seen  in  tlie  second  chapter,  is  the  method 
recommended  by  Dr.  John  HalL  An  extempore 
sermon,  based  upon  a  written  one,  ought  to  be  a 
very  good  one. 

It  will  be  easier,  however,  to  remember  the  sub- 
stance of  what  has  been  meditated,  than  of  what  has 
been  w^ritten,  for  the  reason  that,  in  meditating,  one 
goes  over  the  subject  more  frequently,  and  also  re- 
members it  by  succession  of  ideas,  rather  than  words. 
Ideas,  well-linked,  draw^  each  other,  like  a  chain  or  a 
net;  words  are  a  heap  of  leaves,  easy  to  collect,  hard 
to  retain. 

The  subject  we  are  considering  is  discussed  by 
Fenelon,  in  an  interesting  passage  of  his  dialogues 
on  oratory.  Although  the  general  practice  among 
the  great  preachers  of  his  day  was  to  write  their 


MEMORY.  93 

sermons  and  commit  them  to  memory,  he  argues 
against  it,  on  various  grounds.  His  chosen  method 
was  to  possess  himself  fully  with  his  subject,  and 
then  speak  upon  it  in  a  free,  bold  way,  witliout  care 
for  elaboration  of  the  lanouao^e. 

There  is  a  great  advantage,  so  far  as  memory  is 
concerned,  in  having  several  fully  developed  illus- 
trations in  the  sermon.  They  form  a  sensible  image 
of  the  thought,  and  are  easily  retained  by  the  im- 
aginative faculty,  and  recall  the  ideas  they  are  in- 
tended to  illustrate.  What  we  see,  says  Horace,  is 
more  easily  remembered  than  what  we  hear.  Sim- 
ilarly, what  is  clearly  presented  to  the  mental  retina 
by  a  metaphor  or  comparison,  remains  more  vivid 
than  any  abstract  proposition.  If  the  discourse 
should  be  made  on  this  account  more  figurative, 
more  replete  with  imagery,  than  a  written  one  usu- 
ally is,  it  is  a  change  in  the  right  direction.  What 
is  easy  for  the  preacher  to  remember  is  likely,  also, 
to  be  more  easily  remembered  by  liis  audience.  It 
will  be  found  on  trial,  we  think,  that  people  are 
more  apt  to  remember  the  striking  illustrations,  than 
any  other  parts  of  the  sermon.  Facts  also  of  an  in- 
teresting nature,  anecdotes,  or  special  applications 
of  the  subject  are  easy  to  recall,  for  the  same  reason, 
namely,  that  they  are  a  kind  of  concrete  embodi- 
ment of  the  thought.  They  define  it  and  bring  it 
vividly  before  the  mind.  The  proposition  and  argu- 
ments connected  with  them  by  association  of  ideas, 
will  recur  to  the  memory,  even  after  years  of  latency. 


94  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

Descriptions  of  natural  scenery  are,  also,  easily  re- 
membered, if  tlie  speaker  lias  in  mind  a  lively  image 
of  the  scene  he  describes.  The  scriptural  narratives 
afford  a  similar  facility,  in  that  the  pictures  pre- 
sented are  simple,  well-defined,  and  familiar  in  their 
general  outline,  from  our  earliest  recollection. 

In  addition  to  the  special  qualities  of  the  dis- 
course, which  make  it  easy  of  remembrance,  there 
are  general  preparations,  of  great  use  in  enabling 
the  preacher  to  remember  all  discourses.  Every- 
thing which  renders  our  knowledge,  of  whatever 
kind,  more  definite  and  compact,  is  an  assistance  to- 
wards its  remembrance.  This  should  be,  especially, 
kept  in  mind,  in  our  methods  of  studying  the  Bible. 
The  scriptures  are  the  preacher's  arsenal.  He 
should  be  perfectly  familiar  with  his  weapons,  and 
the  place  where  they  are  kept. 

It  is  said  of  a  certain  clergyman  that,  in  prepara- 
tion for  his  ministry,  he  committed  to  memory,  in 
the  course  of  two  or  three  years,  the  entire  Greek 
Testament,  distributing  all  the  principal  texts  to 
their  appropriate  topics,  in  his  mind  ;  so  that,  if  at 
any  time  he  desired  to  speak  on  any  one  of  them, 
the  passages  bearing  upon  it  all  recurred  to  him  at 
once.  It  is  similarly  told  of  one  of  the  fathers  that 
during  his  retirement  among  the  monks,  before  he 
began  to  preach,  he  accomplished  the  almost  incre- 
dible task  of  committing  the  whole  Bible  to  memory, 
so  that  all  tlie  principal  parts  of  it  were  ready  for 
use  whenevei*,  in  the  pulpit,  he  had  need  of  them. 


MEMORY.  95 

While  sucli  amazing  feats  of  memory  are  somewhat 
too  heroic  for  ordinary  ministers,  it  is  easy  to  per- 
ceive what  benefit  accrues  from  this  kind  of  acquain- 
tance with  the  Holy  Scriptures.  To  have  a  large 
number  of  proof  texts,  illustrative  instances,  and 
striking  statements  of  eacli  great  doctrine,  clearly 
and  methodically  arranged  in  the  mind,  and  famil- 
iarized by  frequent  revision,  is  a  capital  preparation 
for  preaching  extemporaneously  upon  them. 

The  seminary  note-book  can  be  utilized  for  this 
purpose,  if  it  is,  as  it  should  be,  filled  with  a  careful 
summary  of  all  the  principal  doctrines,  as  the  pro- 
fessor has  gone  through  them  in  the  class.  In  hi& 
lectures  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  have  been  stated 
clearly,  defined  and  limited,  all  the  arguments  pre- 
sented for  and  against,  objections  answered,  proof- 
texts  adduced,  false  theories  exploded,  and  the  his- 
tory of  them  examined.  A  diligent  student  will  not 
only  have  this  information  carefully  written  out  and 
preserved  in  his  note-book,  but  will  review  it  often^ 
adding  to  it  notes  of  texts  or  commentaries  ;  modify- 
ing, perhaps,  as  he  grows  older,  some  of  the  idea& 
which  he  may  have  apprehended  too  crudely  at  the 
first.  This  careful  revision  of  points  once  learned^ 
fixes  tliem  firmly  in  the  memory.  Whatever  can  be 
said  on  any  given  doctrine  is  already  in  substance, 
present  in  the  mind.  There  may  be  constant  varia- 
tion in  the  statement,  but  the  great  principle  i& 
fastened  in  the  recollection  for  all  time.  It  becomes 
in  Scripture  phrase,  one  of  tlie  "  wells  of  salvation,'^ 


96  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

from  Avliicli  lie  may  joyfully  and  perpetually  draw 
the  water  of  life  for  the  benefit  of  his  people. 

But  other  stores  of  knowledge,  adapted  for  extem- 
poraneous use,  should  be  accumulated  in  similar 
ways.  Every  minister  needs  to  keep  his  stock  of 
information,  of  every  kind,  replete  from  the  peren- 
nial labors  of  his  study ;  but  it  especially  behooves 
those  who  desire  to  have  a  ready  and  extemporane- 
ous command  over  it,  to  frequently  review  whatever 
has  once  been  learned.  Some  one  has  said,  that  the 
object  of  study  is  to  render  our  knowledge  more  and 
more  exact,  more  and  more  extended,  more  and 
more  connected.  This  is  a  good  description  of  the 
effort  required  of  those  who  must  depend  on  their 
memory  in  speaking.  The  principal  facts  of  history, 
the  main  outlines  of  philosophy,  the  leading  princi- 
ples of  science,  should  be  kept  fresh  in  the  mind  by 
incessant  revision.  Our  knowledge  should  be  packed, 
as  it  were,  in  small  and  portable  parcels,  ready  for 
instant  use. 

A  chronological  association  of  names  and  events 
is  of  great  assistance  to  the  memory.  This  would 
seem  to  have  been  a  favorite  mode  with  Edward 
Everett,  of  assisting  in  the  recollection  of  his 
elegantly  written  and  memorized  addresses.  At 
least,  he  repeatedly  took  occasion  to  enumerate  the 
great  events  that  happened  contemporaneously,  with 
whatever  he  might  be  describing.  If  he  referred  to 
Galileo,  for  example,  the  name  would  recall  the 
reigning  sovereign,  the  state  of  the  church,  the  condi- 


MEMORY.  97 

tion  of  the  people,  and  the  discoveries  of  that  age. 
A  good  chart  is  of  immense  service  in  fixing  in  their^ 
proper  location  and  chronological  relation  the  great 
events  of  past  eras  indelibly  upon  the  memory.  A 
few  dates  become  rallying  points  of  a  large  nnmber  of 
facts  which  cluster  around  them,  and  are  associated 
together  in  the  recollection. 

To  have  prepared,  in  brief  compass,  a  carefully 
written  digest  of  the  principal  ethical  systems  of  the 
non-Christian  world,  is  an  admirable  mnemonic  help 
to  the  preacher.  A  page  or  two  of  the  common- 
place-book thus  devoted  to  Plato,  Confucius,  Bud- 
dha, Mahomet,  embodying  a  clear  statement  of  the 
chief  features  of  their  systems,  their  correspondence 
with  and  contrast  to  the  Gospel,  will  be  readily 
remembered,  and  will  furnish  the  apt  material  of  a 
hundred  arguments.  It  would  be  a  good  plan  to  do 
the  same  with  the  prominent  anti- Christian  theories 
of  modern  writers,  such  as  Mill,  Spencer,  Heeckel, 
Strauss,  and  Ren  an.  These  must  be  studied  in  any 
event.  Our  advice  is  to  write  and  preserve  a  short 
summary  of  each,  and  to  make  such  .frequent 
reviews  of  them  as  to  be  ready  to  state  and  refute 
them  on  any  occasion. 

The  so-called  "  primers  "  of  science,  that  are  now 
published  in  such  numbers,  may  conveniently  lie 
upon  the  study  table,  to  be  caught  up  in  an  idle 
hour.  A  glance  at  them  will  refresh  the  mind,  by 
diversion  from  its  ordinary  channels  of  thought,  and 
will  also  serve  to  give  a  ready  and  accurate  knowl- 


98  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

edge,  in  a  portable  shape,  of  all  the  new  discoveries. 
Any  ignorance  of  scientific  progress  is  instantly 
detected  by  some  one  in  the  audience,  and  detracts 
greatly  from  a  minister's  proper  influence.  More, 
indeed,  than  it  should ;  for  science  is  a  sort  of  idol 
in  our  day,  before  which  all  men  are  ready  to  burn 
incense,  and  to  extol  its  triumphs.  If  the  minister 
knows  it  as  well  as  the  majority  of  educated  men, 
he  will  be  able  to  refer  to  it  on  occasion,  in  a  way 
that  will  bring  no  discredit  upon  his  intelligence, 
and  that  will  also  be  of  great  service  in  illustrating 
and  defending  Christian  truth. 

The  writer  hopes  that  he  has  now  succeeded  in 
making  clear  what,  in  his  view,  is  the  underlying 
principle  of  a  proper  training  of  the  memory,  so  far 
as  is  related  to  extempore  speaking;  it  is,  that  the 
speaker  be  so  much  interested  in  his  profession,  and 
so  familiar  with  all  the  facts  and  thoughts  in  any 
way  connected  with  it,  that  his  mind  has  become  a 
store-house  filled  with  materials  ready  to  hand,  and 
suitable  for  all  occasions  thaj;  are  likely  to  arise.  It 
is  not  so  much  one  speech  that  he  attempts  to  recol- 
lect, as  the  skillfully  shaped  materials  of  many 
speeches,  which  may  be  combined  and  re-combined, 
in  any  variety  and  in  any  proportion. 

The  more  thoroughly  furnished  the  mind  has 
become,  in  every  direction,  the  more  easily  will  it 
retain  the  substance  of  any  particular  discourse. 
For,  as  was  before  remarked,  the  most  of  the  dis- 
course cannot  be  new,  save  in  statement.     Its  ideas, 


MEMORY.  99 

facts,  philosophy,  are  all  but  a  part  of  the  preacher's 
general  stock  of  knowledge,  A  single  sermon  is 
only  a  selection  from  the  store.  Having  made  an 
analysis  defining  the  course  of  thought  to  be  pur- 
sued, and  having  put  under  each  head  catch-words 
indicative  of  historical  instances,  or  philosophical 
theories,  that  are  to  be  used  in  support  of  the  argu- 
ment, the  speaker  has  noted  all  that  needs  to  be 
fixed  in  his  memory.  The  rest  will  recur  of  itself  at 
the  proper  time. 

Some  speakers  have  advised  the  beginner  to  have 
a  few  sentences  written  and  committed  to  memory, 
at  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  sermon ;  together 
with  some  balanced  periods  to  be  scattered  through 
it,  and  thus  give  an  appearance  of  finish.  Our 
decided  impression  is,  that  this  is  poor  policy.  Such 
sentences  would  be,  in  any  event,  a  patch-work  sewed 
on,  and  out  of  harmony  with  the  rest.  Most  likely, 
also,  they  will  be  hard  to  adjust  to  the  remaining 
parts,  so  as  to  seem  to  come  in  naturally.  The  best 
way  is,  to  attempt  no  memorizing  of  sentences  or 
words  whatever.  Let  the  mind  be  entirely  concen- 
trated on  the  ideas  to  be  developed,  and  the  end  to  be 
accomplished  by  the  sermon.  It  may  happen,  some- 
times, that  important  thoughts  are  forgotten,  or 
poorly  developed,  for  the  mind  is  not  always  at  its 
best.  There  are  dull  days,  and  there  will  be  fail- 
ures, as  in  all  professions.  But,  usually,  ideas  that 
have  been  properly  meditated  can  be  expressed,  with 
at  least  as  much  facility  before  the  audience,  as  they 
previously  were  in  the  study. 


100  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

Unless  greatly  embarrassed,  in  whicli  case  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  speak  effectively,  the  mind  acts 
much  more  freely  in  presence  of  the  people  than  any- 
where else.  There  is  real  work  to  be  done,  and  the 
speaker  is  thoroughly  in  earnest  to  do  it.  The  ex- 
pectant attitude  of  the  audience  is  enough  to  stimu- 
late the  most  sluggish  orator.  All  the  powers  of  the 
intellect  and  the  heart  are  aroused  to  their  utmost 
tension,  and  the  whole  man  is  alive  to  the  emer- 
gency. So  far  from  this  being  any  hindrance  to 
speech,  it  is  a  potent  reenforcement  of  all  those 
qualities  of  style  which  are  most  needed  in  public 
address :  pith,  point,  directness,  force.  Like  the 
melted  iron  running  from  the  furnace  into  the  molds 
prepared  for  it,  our  thought  and  feeling  are  fused 
into  one  fiery  stream  of  ardent  expression,  setting 
forth  our  ideas  with  vigorous  energy.  There  may 
be,  now  and  then,  some  imperfection  or  lack  of 
polish,  which  would  have  been  remedied  by  the  pen 
had  the  discourse  been  written ;  but  such  blemishes 
are  little  noticed  in  an  earnest  speech,  and  are  more 
than  made  good  by  the  increased  vigor  of  the  style. 

What  was  said  in  the  second  chapter  of  the  neces- 
sity of  repeated  formulation  in  the  mind  of  the 
entire  sermon,  while  preparing  it,  in  order  to  secure 
flexibility  of  language,  may  be  recalled  in  connec- 
tion with  our  present  topic.  For  the  words  which 
have  once  been  associated  with  the  ideas  are  latent 
in  the  memory,  and  sure  to  revive  when  needed. 
'Not  even  the  most  unlearned  man  has  any  trouble  in 


MEMORY.  101 

telling  what  tie  knows  perfectly.  It  is  what  every 
one  is  doing  daily,  and  all  day  long.  Why  should  a 
preacher  have  any  more  difficulty  in  the  pulpit 
than  anywhere  else  ?  He  will  not,  after  having  once 
mastered  the  novelty  of  the  situation.  How  this 
may  be  most  satisfactorily  accomplished  will  be  told 
in  the  next  chapter. 


10* 


YIII. 
FIRST   ATTEMPTS. 

Beyond  a  peradventure  the  chief  difficulty  in  the 
mode  of  preaching  we  are  discussing  is  to  make  a 
beginning.  It  is  the  first  step  that  costs  in  this  as  in 
so  many  other  things.  The  timorous  spirit  stands 
shivering  on  the  brink  and  fears  to  make  the  plunge. 
On  the  other  hand,  too  venturesome  a  courage  is 
equally  to  be  guarded  against,  for  it  is  the  fatal  mis- 
take of  many  to  be  too  ambitious  in  their  first 
attempts.  To  enter,  for  example,  the  pulpit  of  an 
old,  established  church  and  attempt  to  preach  extem- 
poraneously for  the  first  time  to  a  large  and  cultiva- 
ted congregation,  is  as  foolhardy  as  it  would  be  for 
a  cabin-boy  to  take  command  of  an  ocean  steamer. 
There  are  years  of  practice  necessary  before  such  an 
eftbrt  could  have  even  a  tolerable  chance  of  success. 

But  fortunately  for  most  young  preachers,  they 
are  not  often  called  to  minister  to  a  large  and  critical 
congregation,  unless  it  be  temporarily ;  and  in  that 
case  they  would  better  confine  themselves  to  their 
written  sermons. 

Althouo-h  the  dream  of  the  ambitious  student  is  to 
be  called  to  such  a  church  for  his  first  pastorate,  as  a 
general  rule  it  is  a  detriment  rather  than  an  advan- 


FIRST    ATTEMPTS.  103 

tage.  The  heavy  burden  of  responsibility,  the  exact- 
ing and  unceasing  duties,  the  sharp  criticism,  if  they 
do  not  stimulate  the  minister  to  the  impairing  of  his 
health,  will  prove  such  a  burden  that  he  will  gladly 
lay  it  down  after  a  few  years. 

Moreover,  a  prominent  position  of  this  kind  is 
almost  fatal  to  any  cultivation  of  the  power  of 
extemporaneous  preaching.  To  attempt  it,  even, 
would  be  too  great  a  venture.  The  best  place  in 
which  to  learn  is  in  humble  localities,  and  before 
small  and  uncritical  audiences. 

Says  Dr.  Dwiglit  in  his  instructions  to  the  senior 
class,  reported  by  his  son  :  the  best  way  to  succeed  is 
"  by  making  a  first  essay  among  such  an  assembly 
as  will  be  least  likely  to  embarrass  you,  and  select  a 
subject  with  which  you  are  best  acquainted.  Choose, 
if  you  can,  a  topic  which  you  have  argued  before. 
Ouard  against  a  failure  in  the  first  experiment,  for  if 
you  fail  once  you  will  be  likely  to  fail  again.  Dr. 
Dana,  of  this  town,  has  never  practiced  extempo- 
raneous speaking,  and  he  has  given  as  a  reason  for  it 
that  he  was  unsuccessful  in  his  first  attempt  and 
never  made  a  second." 

In  country  school-houses  and  dug-outs,  in  mission- 
ary stations  on  the  frontier  or  in  large  cities,  in  cot- 
tages, prayer-meetings,  and  Bible  classes,  are  the 
proper  opportunities  for  a  successful  commencement. 
With  a  heart  full  of  love  for  Christ,  and  an  earnest 
desire  to  do  good,  a  young  minister  preaches  in  such 
a  place  as  best  he  can.     He  is  not  thinking  of  what 


104  EXTEMPORE    PREACHINa. 

appearance  he  shall  make.  There  are  no  church 
committees  to  please,  nor  anxious  deacons  to  note  his 
mistakes.  The  audiences  are  not  in  a  mood  to  criti- 
cize, but  are  receptive  of  the  truth,  easily  responsive 
to  candor  and  earnestness.  He  expounds,  argues, 
illustrates,  exliorts,  not  to  make  an  oration,  or  even 
to  practice  his  gift,  but  to  win  souls.  He  thinks  not 
of  himself  at  all,  but  of  the  Master  and  his  vrork, 
praying  for  the  Holy  Spirit  to  help  and  guide  him. 
In  this  case,  as  in  all  others,  "  he  that  loseth  his ,  life 
shall  save  it."  While  trying  in  a  humble  vray  to 
do  good  to  the  people,  he  will  gradually  learn  to 
preach  by  preaching :  as  one  learns  to  skate  by 
skating,  or  to  swim  by  swimming.  Insensibly  he 
will  gain  coolness  and  confidence  before  an  assem- 
bly. He  will  learn  to  think  on  his  feet.  Words 
will  come  tripping  to  his  tongue,  nimble  servitors  to 
do  his  bidding.  Homely  and  cogent  illustration  will 
become  a  habit.  He  can  preach  as  briefly  or  as  long 
as  he  pleases.  Any  man  almost  can  do  so  much  if 
he  is  really  in  earnest  and  is  willing  to  make  a  suf- 
ficiently humble  beginning. 

But  this  is  only  the  commencement  of  his  train- 
ing. It  is  necessary,  in  order  to  make  the  most  of 
these  opportunities,  to  prepare  as  fully  for  each  occa- 
sion as  time  will  allow.  The  preacher  should  select 
his  text  with  care,  make  a  full  analysis,  meditate 
the  propositions,  and  go  over  each  point  in  his  mind 
for  an  audience  in  a  school-house  as  for  any  other. 
He  should  avoid  all  careless  expressions,  allow  no 


FIRST    ATTEMPTS.  105 

infelicities  of  diction  which  he  can  help,  and,  in  gen- 
eral, do  his  best  every  time.  We  would  advise  also 
as  man}'  repetitions  as  possible  of  the  same  discourse 
that  it  may  be  improved  and  polished  by  frequent 
re  visa! .  In  this  way  eveYj  lecture  or  prayer-meet- 
ing talk,  or  exhortation  to  Sunday  scholars,  or 
funeral  address,  becomes  a  means  of  improvement. 

If  it  should  be  his  lot  presently  to  be  called  to  a 
small  church  he  will,  perhaps,  find  courage  to  ad- 
dress them,  of  a  rainy  day,  or  a  Sunday  evening, 
without  his  notes.  They  will,  probably,  be  pleased 
and  ask  him  to  continue  his  extemporaneous  efforts; 
but  even  if  they  do  not,  he  will  make  bold  to  repeat 
them  for  the  sake  of  ultimate  advantage.  After 
some  years  of  practice,  if  it  be  in  him  to  learn  at  all, 
he  will  have  sufficient  skill  to  venture  before  large 
audiences  without  his  manuscript,  but  even  yet  we 
would  counsel  him  prudently  to  select  a  sermon 
which  he  has  often  preached  before  and  is  perfectly 
familiar  with. 

But  if,  after  so  much  eifort,  he  cannot  speak  ex- 
temporaneously with  ease  to  himself  and  pleasure  to 
his  hearers,  he  would  better  read  his  sermons,  for  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  as  so  many  great  and  famous 
preachers  are  content  to  do. 

As  the  most  potent  encouragement  we  can  receive 
is  from  the  example  of  those  who  have  labored  and 
succeeded  in  the  path  we  are  trying,  it  will  be  of 
service  to  meditate  in  this  connection  the  graphic 
account   which  John  Bunyan  has  given  of  his  first 


106  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

attempts  at  public  exhortation.  Although  best  known 
by  his  books,  Bunyan  was  a  very  popular  preacher 
in  his  day.  Everywhere  through  the  country  he  was 
greeted  by  throngs  of  listeners,  and  when  he  gave 
his  annual  sermons  in  London  the  house  was  too 
small  for  the  congregation.  It  will  be  seen  with 
what  self-distrust,  and  from  how  small  beginnings 
he  attained  his  eminence.  The  account  is  taken 
from  Philip's  TAfe  of  Bunyan. 

"  And  now  I  am  speaking  of  my  experience,  I 
will  in  this  place  thrust  in  a  word  or  two  concerning 
my  preaching  the  Word,  and  God's  dealing  with  me 
in  that  particular  also. 

"  After  I  had  been  about  five  or  six  years  awakened 
and  helped  to  see  for  myself  both  the  want  and  the 
worth  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  also  enabled  to 
venture  my  soul  upon  Him, — some  of  the  most  able 
among  the  saints  with  us  (I  say  the  most  able  for 
judgment  and  holiness  of  life)  did  perceive,  as  they 
conceived,  that  God  had  counted  me  worthy  to  un- 
derstand something  of  His  will  in  His  holy  and 
blessed  Word,  and  had  given  me  utterance  to  express 
in  some  measure  what  I  said  to  others  for  edification; 
therefore,  they  desired  me — and  that  wdth  much 
earnestness — that  I  would  be  willing,  at  some  times, 
to  take  in  hand  in  one  of  the  meetings,  to  speak  a 
word  of  exhortation  unto  them. 

"  After  this,  sometimes,  when  some  of  them  did 
go  into  the  country  to  teach  they  would  also  that  I 
should  go  with  them ;  where,  though  as  yet  I  did 


FIRST    ATTEMPTS'.  107 

not  nor  durst  not  make  use  of  my  gift  in  an  open 
way,  yet  more  privately  still,  as  I  came  amongst  the 
good  people  in  those  places,  I  did  sometimes  speak 
a  word  of  admonition  nnto  them  also.  But  in  this 
work^  as  in  all  others,  I  had  my  temptations  attend- 
ing me  and  that  of  divers  kinds  ;  as  sometimes  I 
should  be  assaulted  with  great  discouragement  there- 
in, fearing  that  I  should  not  be  able  to  speak  a  word 
at  all  to  edification  ;  nay,  that  I  should  not  be  able 
to  speak  sense  unto  the  people,  at  which  times  I  should 
have  such  a  strange  faintness  and  strengthlessnes& 
seize  upon  my  body  that  my  legs  have  scarce  been 
able  to  carry  me  to  the  place  of  exercise  ....  I  have^ 
also,  at  some  times,  even  when  I  have  begun  to  speak 
the  word  with  much  clearness,  evidence  and  liberty 
of  speech,  yet  been,  before  the  ending  of  that  oppor- 
tunity, so  blinded  and  so  estranged  from  the  things 
I  have  been  speaking,  and  have  been  also  so  straight- 
ened in  my  speech,  as  to  utterance  before  the  people, 
that  I  have  been  as  if  I  had  not  known  or  remem- 
bered what  I  have  been  about,  or  as  if  my  head  had 
been  in  a  bag  all  the  time  of  my  exercise." 

The  preacher  need  not  chafe  at  the  necessity  of 
humble  beginnings  and  small  success  at  the  first. 
No  man  expects  to  reach  perfection  in  any  other  art 
without  a  long  and  tedious  training,  beginning  at  the 
most  insignificant  details  and  working  up  to  the 
grand  results.  Painters,  sculptors,  architects,  finan- 
ciers, authors,  generals,  are  developed  by  innumerable 
efibrts  and  by  frequent  failures  before  they  reach  em- 


108  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

inent  success.  They  are  content  if  twenty  years  of 
steady  application  to  their  profession  will  finally  win 
them  public  recognition  and  support ;  why  should  an 
extemporaneous  speaker  expect  to  succeed  with  less  ? 
His  art  is  as  difficult  as  any,  as  important,  and  as 
brilliant  in  its  rewards. 

So  far  as  concerns  the  pecuniary  recompense 
merely,  a  leading  orator  commands  any  price  he 
chooses  to  name.  And,  better  than  money,  he  has 
boundless  influence  with  the  people  for  furthering 
any  great  patriotic  or  benevolent  enterprise.  His 
name,  at  a  day's  notice,  crowds  the  largest  hall  in 
any  city.  And  if  he  be  also  a  holy  man,  wise  in 
winning  souls,  his  trophies,  by  divine  help,  shall  be 
as  the  stars  that  shine  forever.  All  this  is  worth  w^ork- 
ing  for  and  waiting  for. 

But  it  may  be  objected  that  this  practice  of  extem- 
pore speech  before  smaller  assemblies  is  apart  of  the 
necessary  experience  of  every  minister ;  and  still 
multitudes  of  them  will  not  ventnre  into  the  pulpit 
without  a  manuscript. 

This  is  true,  and  it  is  certainly  somewhat  ]*emark- 
able,  that  men  of  profound  learning,  and  ardent 
piety,  richly  furnished  with  every  literary  qualifica- 
tion,— who  can,  and  do,  speak  with  perfect  freedom 
everywhere  else,  in  prayer-meetings  and  preparatory 
lectures,  in  out-districts  and  halls,  in  conventions,  on 
public  platforms,  before  large  popular  assemblies, — 
should  be  suddenly  smitten  with  dumbness,  on  enter- 
ing a  pulpit,  and  hardly  dare  to  give  even  a  notice, 


FJRST    ATTEMPTS.  109 

unless  it  is  written  ;  would  be  surprising,  were  it  not 
so  common.  The  reason  appears  to  be  that  both 
preachers  and  people  have  tacitly  agreed  that  a  dif- 
ferent standard  of  speech  shall  rule,  in  the  sacred 
desk,  from  what  is  accepted  everywhere  else.  But, 
so  far  as  it  diifers  from  the  ordinary  style  of  serious 
conversation,  the  standard  is  a  false  and  conventional 
one,  and  should  be  dethroned  as  soon  as  possible. 
It  is  hurtful  to  the  efficiency  of  w^ritten  sermons, 
and  fatal  to  any  power  of  extemporaneous  utter- 
ance. To  preach  profound  and  learned  discourses, 
full  of  the  technical  terms  of  theology,  may  be  a  fine 
method  of  showing  the  preacher's  ability,  but  it  is  a 
very  poor  means  of  doing  good.  The  unlearned 
may,  in  their  simplicity,  admire  and  applaud,  but 

"  The  hungry  sheep  look  up  and  are  not  fed, 
But  swol'n  with  the  wind  and  the  rank  mist  they  draw." 

It  is  high  time  that  the  pulpit  should  return  to  a 
more  straightforward  and  common-sense  mode  of 
preaching.  The  preacher  in  the  pulpit  is  a  man 
speaking  to  men,  exactly  as  in  any  other  place,  and 
ability  to  speak  elsewhere  is  a  warrant  of  his  capa- 
city to  address  them  there.  It  is  very  probable  that, 
at  first,  he  will  make  some  mistakes  in  the  grammar 
or  the  construction  of  his  periods.  He  may  hesitate 
for  a  word,  occasionally.  He  will  now  and  again 
blunder  in  a  date  or  a  quotation.  But  are  manu- 
script sermons  always  infallible  ?  Does  the  minis- 
ter always  read  them  without  hesitation  ?  On  the 
contrary,  it  has  seldom  been  our  fortune  to  hear  a 


110  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

written  sermon,  in  which  there  was  not  more  or  less 
of  miscalling  the  words,  or  losing  the  place,  or  going 
back  to  give  the  sentence  as  it  was  written.  Any 
one  may  convince  himself,  by  attentive  observation, 
that  those  who  confine  themselves  to  their  manu- 
scripts do  not  alwa3^s  read  with  the  freedom  and 
force,  which,  for  example,  reconciled  Dr.  Chalmer's 
audiences  to  his  "  paper,"  and  made  him,  in  Scotch 
parlance,  a  "  fell  reader." 

Something  must  be  granted  to  human  weakness 
and  imperfection,  as  in  every  other  art ;  but,  after 
the  training  we  have  described,  almost  any  preacher 
can  so  speak  that  the  people  will  gladly  hear.  They 
will  pardon  any  small  blemishes.  Very  likely  they 
will  not  notice  them.  If  he  has  learned  self-posses- 
sion, and  is  not  distressed  by  his  mistakes,  no  one  else 
will  care  for  tliem.  Supposing  a  blunder  to  have 
been  committed,  it  is  not  worth  while  to  stop  and 
correct  it,  unless  it  be  a  mistake  of  doctrine.  A 
mere  verbal  mistake,  as  for  instance  a  mispronuncia- 
tion, or  miscalling  a  name,  or  forgetting  the  number 
of  the  nominative  case,  or  some  other  grammatical 
mischance,  is  best  suffered  to  remain  in  the  oblivion 
into  which  it  will  surely  fall.  To  correct  it  is  to 
arouse  attention,  which  otherwise  was  either  languid 
and  not  noticing  anything ;  or  else  was  so  fixed  on 
the  thought,  as  to  be  comparatively  indifferent  to 
minute  defects. 

There  are,  in  almost  every  congregation,  a  few 
fastidious  hearers,  who  are  nothing   if  not  critical. 


FIRST    ATTEMPTS.  Ill 

Their  delicate  ears  will  be  offended  by  any  defi- 
ciency in  the  finish  of  the  discourse.  But  it  is  not 
worth  while  to  be  much  afraid  of  such  hearers ;  for 
if  they  could  not  criticize  the  form  of  the  sermon, 
they  would  discover  some  other  fault  in  the  minister. 
Apparently  their  main  object  in  going  to  church  is 
to  indulge  their  bad  habit  of  fault-finding.  If  the 
preacher  is  to  be  diverted  from  what  seems  to  him 
tlie  right  course,  by  any  fear  of  this  class  of  people, 
he  might  better  leave  the  profession  at  once,  for  they 
will  destroy  both  his  usefulness  and  his  enjoyment. 
Not  to  fear  the  face  of  man,  to  speak  not  for  applause 
but  to  do  good,  to  be  and  to  feel  responsible  to  God 
alone,  will  enable  the  preacher  to  do  the  best  that 
is  in  him,  serenely  indifierent  to  the  petty  carpings 
of  hostile  criticism. 

One  of  the  inherent  difiiculties  of  this  method  of 
preaching,  especially  at  first,  is  to  adjust  the  time  oc- 
cupied by  a  discourse  to  the  conventional  ideas  of  the 
congregation.  In  most  communities  there  is  a  certain 
standard  of  length,  tacitly  agreed  upon,  from  which 
one  cannot  prudently  vary  very  much.  It  is  half, 
or  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  or  an  hour,  as  the  case 
may  be.  If  the  preacher  conclude  much  before  the 
time,  light-minded  hearers  will  infer  he  liad  little  to 
say  ;  if  he  protract  a  few  minutes  beyond,  they  will 
grow  impatient.  In  reading  a  sermon,  one  can  time 
it  beforehand.  A  certain  number  of  pages  will,  on 
the  average,  occupy  so  many  minutes.  But,  in 
speaking,  one  is  apt  to  be  oblivious  of  the  passage 


112  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

of  time.  If  interested,  the  hour  has  flown,  or  ever 
he  was  aware.  But  the  audience  are  aware  of  it, 
and  it  becomes  the  preacher  to  be  so  likewise.  The 
obvious  means  of  knowing  the  time  is  by  a  clock,  if 
there  be  one ;  if  not,  a  watch  must  be  depended  on. 
But  it  is  not  a  good  plan  to  be  seen  consulting  it. 

The  writer  was  preaching,  before  his  ordination, 
in  a  church  to  which  it  was  convenient  to  invite  his 
professor  of  elocution,  with  the  purpose  of  criticizing 
the  service.  The  next  day,  the  professor  occupied 
the  lesson-hour  with  a  series  of  kindly  observations, 
which  induced  a  proper  condition  of  humility  in 
the  subject  of  them.  They  were  written  down,  and 
have  been  often  consulted  since,  with  profit,  it  is 
hoped.  Among  the  criticisms  was  one  upon  the 
point  before  us.  The  writer  had  taken  out  his  watch 
during  the  sermon  to  note  the  time,  and  the  profes- 
sor said  to  himself,  "  The  preacher  cannot  be  much 
engaged  in  his  argument,  or  he  would  not  be  thinking 
what  time  it  is."  He  advised,  never  to  do  it  again, 
and  the  writer  never  has ;  but  he  lays  the  watch  on 
the  desk,  behind  a  hymn-book,  when  no  clock  is  to 
be  seen,  and,  by  long  habit,  can  be  conscious  of  the 
time  without  any  diversion  from  the  current  of 
thought,  or  any  apparent  consultation  of  the  time- 
piece. 

An  open  watch,  to  ])e  seen  constantly,  gives  a  fur- 
ther advantage,  in  that  it  enables  one  to  adjust,  in  due 
proportion,  the  several  parts  of  the  sermon.  As  has 
been  said  already,  it  is  sometimes  a  fault  of  extem- 


FIRST    ATTEMPTS.  113 

pore  speakers,  that  they  unduly  prolong  the  intro- 
duction, or  early  divisions,  and  leave  little  time  for 
the  applications  of  the  subject.  Of  a  famous 
preacher  it  was  said,  that  he  hardly  ever  finished  a 
sermon.  The  subject,  under  his  treatment,  branched 
out  in  so  many  directions,  and  suggested  such  a  num- 
ber of  brilliant  illustrations,  that  he  went  on.  and 
on,  until  an  hour  or  more  had  gone  ;  and  he  was 
still  remote  from  his  intended  conclusion.  Now  an 
open  watch,  if  consulted  occasionally,  reminds  the 
prolix  speaker  that  his  exordium  is  devouring  his 
peroration,  and  helps  him  to  correct  this  fault. 

Dr.  Ware,  of  Harvard  University,  published, 
many  years  ago,  a  little  book  containing  useful  hints 
on  extemporaneous  preaching,  and  among  others,  he 
has  some  suggestions  relative  to  the  best  way  of 
commencing :  one  is,  that  the  preacher  should  at 
first  practice  the  exposition  of  considerable  passages 
of  scripture.  He  will  be  able  to  say  a  little  on  each 
verse,  and  can  presume  upon  having  enough  matter 
to  fill  up  the  time.  This  is  simply  a  small  advance 
upon  the  ordinary  methods  of  Bible-class  teaching. 

He  quotes  also,  with  approval,  the  advice  of 
Bishop  Burnet,  "  that  the  first  attempts  be  made, 
by  short  excursions  from  written  discourses  ;  like 
the  young  bird  that  tries  its  wings  by  short  flights, 
till  it  gradually  acquires  strength  and  courage  to 
sustain  itself  longer  in  the  air." 

These  are,  no  doubt,  useful  devices,  but  if  much 
relied  upon  the  preacher  will  never  get  beyond  them. 


114  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

Crutches  are  useful  to  a  lame  man,  but  unless  he  can 
presently  do  without  them  he  will  never  be  much  of 
a  pedestrian.  That  preacher  will  do  the  best  and 
make  the  most  rapid  progress  who  begins  as  he  in- 
tends to  continue  by  preaching  regularly-constructed 
sermons,  thoroughly  wrought  out  and  delivered  with- 
out a  scrap  of  paper  to  serve  as  a  crutch.  In  such 
obscure  places  as  we  have  named  there  can  be  no 
disgrace  in  a  comparative  failure,  but  there  is  a  great 
opportunity  to  do  good.  The  preaching  is  a  real, 
not  a  factitious  exercise,  like  extemporizing  to  a  sem- 
inary class.  The  mode  of  it  is  precisely  what  will 
be  called  for  by  and  by  in  the  larger  assemblies. 
This,  then,  is  the  place  to  learn,  and  to  gain  the  skill 
that  comes  of  practice. 

But  the  preacher  will  never  get  beyond  this,  un- 
less he  has  the  courage,  after  a  while,  to  essay  a 
bolder  flight.  He  may  be  con  vincing,  edifying,  elo- 
quent, in  a  school-house,  and  yet  be  embarrassed  in 
the  pulpit,  until  he  has  accustomed  himself  to  the 
more  august  surroundings.  Our  advice  would  be, 
therefore,  not  to  delay  too  long  the  first  efforts.  A 
Sunday  evening  service,  largely  made  up  of  chorals, 
and  scripture  readings,  with  a  space  left  for  "  re- 
marks "  by  the  pastor,  affords  an  excellent  starting- 
place  in  however  large  and  conservative  a  church. 
The  step  is  not  long  from  a  speech  of  twenty  minutes 
in  such  a  service  to  a  sermon  of  half  an  hour  on  an 
ordinary  Sunday  evening. 

The  thing  can  be  done  by  any  one  who  chooses  to 


FIRST    ATTEMPTS.  115 

do  it  and  who  is  willing  to  take  as  much  pains  with 
his  extempore  sermons  as  he  ordinarily  does  with  his 
written  ones.  If,  however,  his  idea  of  an  extempore 
discourse  is  that  he  may  pick  out  some  hap-hazard 
text,  of  a  Sunday  afternoon,  and  by  throwing  to- 
gether a  fqw  crude  ideas,  sufficiently  prepare  him- 
self for  the  evening,  he  will  not  succeed  nor  deserve 
success. 

The  Rev.  John  Foster  writes  in  one  of  his  letters, 
early  in  his  ministry,  that  he  awoke  one  Sabbath 
morning  and  remembered  that  he  had  to  preach 
that  day.  The  thought  was  unpleasing,  because  he 
had  not  yet  begun  to  form  either  of  his  sermons. 
He  sat  up  in  bed  and  caught  some  ideas,  but  did  not 
write  a  line  or  a  word.  After  this  he  went  to  church 
and  vexed  his  suffering  audience  with  sermons  as  ill- 
prepared  as  Dr.  Johnson's  famous  leg  of  mutton. 
We  do  not  wonder,  to  read  a  few  pages  further  on, 
that  his  audiences  had  dwindled  to  nothing. 

The  only  way  to  achieve  excellence,  in  extempor- 
aneous preaching,  is  by  painstaking  effort  on  every 
occasion.  It  is  a  subtle  and  difficult  art,  but  it  may 
be  learned  by  all  who  are  willing  to  accept  the  nec- 
essary conditions  of  all  success. 


IX. 
DELIYEEY. 

If  we  may  trust  the  opinion  of  the  world's  most 
famous  orators,  the  chief  qualification  of  a  speaker 
is  in  his  "  action,"  or  delivery..  Certainly,  for  the 
effect  of  a  discourse  upon  the  hearer  all  depends  on 
the  mode  in  which  it  is  delivered.  A  piano  may  be 
good  in  every  respect,  but  if  the  player  cannot  draw 
forth  its  potential  music  it  might  as  well  be  of  in- 
ferior quality.  To  prepare,  with  utmost  diligence,  a 
speech  or  sermon,  and  then  spoil  it  in  the  utterance, 
is  a  grievous  waste  of  labor. 

Of  an  extemporaneous  sermon,  particularly,  which 
lives  and  dies  on  the  breath  of  the  speaker,  it  may 
be  said  that  upon  its  delivery  depends  all  its  effect- 
iveness. There  are  few  perfect  readers ,  there  are 
still  fewer  unblemished  speakers.  Many  defects  will 
ordinarily  be  observable,  even  in  those  of  great  rep- 
utation and  of  acknowledged  power.  They  excel, 
not  in  consequence  of  their  defects,  but  in  spite  of 
them.  They  have  positive  excellences  of  delivery 
which  more  than  compensate  for  all  deficiencies. 
The  audience  will  forgive  much  to  a  speaker  who  is 
thoroughly  in  earnest  and  fully  informed  upon  his 


DELIVERY.  117 

subject.  If  he  speak  so  that  they  can  hear  him,  and 
his  voice  be  not  unpleasing,  they  will  pardon  many 
blemishes.  Yet  it  is  well  to  avoid  what  faults  we 
may ;  although  after  every  effort  we  should  still  be 
amenable  to  criticism. 

A  very  common  fault  of  young  speakers  is  to  speak 
too  rapidly.  Being  full  of  their  subject  and  some- 
what excited  by  standing  before  an  assembly,  they 
do  not  realize  that  the  minds  of  the  people  are  work- 
ing less  quickly  than  their  own,  and  rush  ahead  at  a 
pace  which  soon  leaves  the  audience  behind.  It  is 
difficult  to  understand  a  rapid  speaker  if  the  room 
is  large.  It  is  tiresome  to  follow  him.  There  is  in 
his  delivery  a  monotony  like  the  buzzing  of  swift 
machinery.  Hardly  any  blemish  is  greater  in 
speaking. 

It  is  especially  important,  at  the  beginning  of  a 
discourse,  to  be  slow  and  deliberate  in  our  utterance, 
each  word  distinct,  each  period  separately  marked 
off  from  the  rest.  The  express  train  starts  slowly, 
although  it  soon  attains  a  speed  of  sixty  miles 
an  hour,  otherwise  it  w^ould  jar  the  passengers. 
And  the  minds  of  men  are  jarred  by  too  great 
rapidity  in  the  opening  of  a  speech.  They  are 
not  yet  prepared  for  the  thought.  They  do  not  know 
what  it  is  to  be.  Still  less  have  they  any  emotion  in 
regard  to  it.  Therefore,  they  must  be  gradually 
brought  to  consider  and  feel  the  subject  by  a  deli- 
berate utterance  of  the  opening  paragraphs.  When 
passion  is  aroused  and  the  speaker  has  secured  their 


118  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

sympathy  in  the  full  tide  of  his  triumphant  argu- 
ment, he  may  quicken  his  pace.  But  even  then  a 
high  degree  of  velocity  is  less  impressive  than  delib- 
erate utterance. 

The  best  speakers  utter  from  one  hundred  and 
twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  words  in  a  minute, 
and  the  less,  rather  than  the  greater,  number  is  pre- 
ferable. As  a  plain  man  said  of  Daniel  Webster, 
^'  He  said  little,  but  every  word  weighed  a  pound.  " 
The  writer  heard  this  great  orator  at  Albany,  in  his 
old  age  and  during  his  tour  through  New  York, 
speaking  in  defense  of  his  views  of  the  constitution. 
The  schools  were  dismissed,  that  the  children 
might  attend.  A  vast  crowd  assembled  by  the  park 
in  front  of  the  Congress  Hall,  and  the  statesman, 
enfeebled  by  age  and  sickness,  came  out  slowly  to 
address  the  concourse.  The  ponderous  movement  of 
his  arm,  as  it  rose  and  fell  in  gesture  ;  the  deep  tones, 
like  the  slow  vibration  of  a  great  bell ;  the  emphatic 
pauses  and  deliberate  utterance,  remain,  after  thirty 
years,  fixed  in  the  memory  of  one  who  was  then  a 
mere  boy. 

Great  deliberateness  is  characteristic  of  almost  all 
great  speakers.  Of  William  Wirt,  one  of  America's 
most  famoiis  orators,  we  are  told  by  his  biographer, 
^'  He  w^as  calm,  deliberate,  and  distinct  in  his  enun- 
ciation. His  key  was  that  of  earnest,  animated 
argument."  It  was  said  of  Dr.  Nettleton  by  one  of 
his  admirers,  "  That  whisper  of  his  was  so  distinct, 
so  full  of  feeling,  so  potent,  that  it  penetrated  every 


DELIVERY.  119 

corner  of  the  house,  and  his  distinct  pronunciation 
was  one  of  the  great  excellences  of  his  preaching." 
The  preacher,  then,  will,  first  of  all,  strive  to  restrain 
his  impetuosity  and  speak  slowlv, —  "  Ut  tamen  delih- 
erare  non  haesitare  videatur,  "  yet  so  as  to  appear 
rather  to  deliberate  than  to  hesitate. 

It  is  particularly  necessary  for  a  speaker  to  avoid 
any  faltering  at  the  commencement,  unless  he  choose 
to  imitate  the  artful  modesty  which  Homer  says  was 
characteristic  of  Ulysses,  as  if  he  were  somewhat 
diffident  and  unwilling  to  speak  in  the  presence  of 
such  able  men.  A  slow,  thoughtful  utterance,  as  of 
one  who  is  weighing  well  his  words  and  gives  them 
forth  after  full  consideration,  without  trepidation  and 
without  confusion,  is  the  best  at  first.  E'or  need 
there  be  any  artificiality  or  insincerity  attributed  to 
this  mode  of  utterance.  At  the  outset  of  his  ser- 
mon a  speaker  ought  to  be  in  precisely  that  mental 
attitude.  He  is  to  speak  to  men  on  a  solemn  occa- 
sion. Issues  of  life  and  death  are  in  his  hands.  An 
expectant  audience  is  patiently  awaiting  his  opening 
words,  looking  for  comfort  and  edification.  He  does 
wisely  to  look  well  to  the  steps  by  wliich  he  leads 
them  to  the  consideration  of  divine  truth.  By 
gradual  and  deliberate  approach  he  brings  them  to 
understand  and  be  interested  in  his  subject.  This 
is  the  process  most  natural  to  his  mind  and  to  theirs. 
A  natural  delivery  requires  great  deliberation  at  the 
commencement  of  a  sermon. 

On  a  proper  management  of  pauses  depends  a 


120  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

large  part  of  the  effectiveness  of  a  speaker.  We  are 
not  now  referring  to  emphatic  pauses  in  the  sentence, 
the  consideration  of  which  belongs  properly  to  Elo- 
cution ;  but  to  those  longer  pauses  which  a  speaker 
employs  to  rest  himself  or  his  audience.  There 
should  be,  for  example,  a  sensible  pause  at  the  con- 
clusion of  each  principal  division,  enough  to  allow  a 
relaxation  of  the  people  from  a  strained  position  to 
attend  to  any  little  comforts  of  themselves  or  the 
children,  and,  as  it  were,  to  take  breath  for  a  new 
start.  The  intervals  allowed  by  some  able  speakers 
for  this  purpose  are  quite  noticeable,  and  whoever  has 
benefited  by  them  will  appreciate  their  convenience. 

As  it  has  seemed  to  us,  the  frequent  decrees,  letters, 
lists  of  witnesses,  introduced  by  Demosthenes  and 
ordered  to  be  read  by  the  clerk,  were  not  only  for 
their  value  as  evidence,  but  were  intended  to  give 
the  speaker  an  opportunity  for  resting  his  voice,  and 
for  relief  of  the  assembly,  which  would  otherwise 
have  been  wearied  with  so  long  an  oration.  During 
the  formal  reading  of  a  well-known  decree  or  vote 
they  could  change  their  position,  look  around,  con- 
verse a  little,  go  out  for  refreshments,  and  then  begin 
afresh  to  listen,  as  the  orator  rose  to  continue  his 
speech.  By  this  means  the  long  oration  became 
rather  a  series  of  short  ones,  comparatively  easy  to 
attend  to. 

But  whether  or  not  this  is  a  correct  explanation, 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  rest  an  audience  in  church  by  an 
occasional  pause  of,  it  may  be,  several  seconds.     The 


DELIVERY.  121 

preacher,  for  example,  stops  to  look  np  a  passage  in 
tlie  Bible  and  turns  to  it  with  intentional  delibera- 
tion. Meanwhile  tlie  people  are  nnconsciously  re- 
lieved of  the  effort  to  attend  and  are  rested.  Or, 
perhaps,  he  introdnces  a  quotation  from  the  poets,  a 
passage  of  some  well-known  prose  writer,  or  even  a 
newspaper  paragraph.  It  may  not  be  specially  im- 
portant, but  if  allied  to  the  theme  it  will  not  inter- 
rupt the  argument  and  will  serve  the  purpose  of  a 
rest.  The  people's  attention  can  wander  for  a  mo- 
ment and  return  without  losing  an  integral  part  of 
the  sermon.  Any  innocent  device  by  which  two  or 
three  intervals  of  rest  are  afforded  during  the  dis- 
course will  add  to  the  satisfaction  of  those  who 
hear  it. 

Loud  vociferation  is  not  often  called  for  except  at 
a  camp-meeting  in  the  woods.  It  may  be  needful 
and  appropriate  wliere  the  audience  is  scattered  over 
a  wide  area,  the  wind  soughs  through  the  trees,  the 
uneasy  animals  distract  attention,  and  people  are 
always  moving  about.  To  speak  loud  under  such 
circumstances  is  the  necessary  condition  of  being 
heard  at  all.  But  in  an  ordinary  church  to  split  the 
ears  of  the  congregation  with  explosive  tones  is 
entirely  unnecessary.  A  quieter  style  is  more  im- 
pressive. "  It  is  not  the  thunder  that  kills,  but  the 
lightning."  For  all  ordinary  services  the  quiet,  con- 
versational tones  of  a  gentleman  speaking  in  a  par- 
lor •  are  sufficient.  Occasionally  greater  force  and 
emphasis  are  allowable,  but  if  they  become  habitual 

12 


122  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

tliey  lose  their  eiFect.  It  is  the  contrast  that  startles 
the  ear,  like  the  effect  of  light  and  shade  in  a 
picture. 

There  is  current  an  anecdote  of  Rev.  Rowland 
Hill  to  the  effect  that  on  heing  blamed  for  nsing  so 
much  superfluity  of  voice  in  the  pulpit,  he  replied 
that  once  a  man  fell  into  a  pit  and  he  lifted  up  his 
voice  for  help  and  shouted  so  as  to  be  heard  a  mile ; 
no  one  blamed  him  then,  nor  ought  they  to  blame 
him  if  by  loud  outcry  he  sought  to  save  sinners  from 
hell.  Which  is  very  true,  if  the  outcry  Avere  neces- 
sary in  order  to  make  the  sinners  hear,  or  to  impress 
them  with  the  truth  ;  but  it  will,  on  the  contrary, 
diminish  the  impression,  if  frequently  indulged  in. 
There  may  be,  however,  circumstances  of  excite- 
ment or  grave  crises  of  public  affairs,  where  a  loud 
tone  is  the  natural  expression  of  the  prevalent  emo- 
tion. Thus  the  English  embassador  said  admiringly 
of  J  ohn  Knox,  after  one  of  his  vehement  addresses, 
"  It  put  more  life  into  him  than  six  hundred  trum- 
pets." But  usually  something  less  than  six  hundred 
trumpets  will  be  voice  enough. 

Nor  are  we  inclined  to  favor  that  style  of  delivery 
which  is  marked  by  running  all  around  the  pulpit, 
and  indulging  in  a  variety  of  excited  gesticulations. 
We  are  aware  that  great  names  can  be  adduced  in 
support  of  this  practice,  notably  that  of  Rufus 
Choate,  who  gestured  with  head,  hands,  and  feet,  and 
all  parts  between.  Not  such  are  the  movements  of 
a  well-bred,   cultivated  gentleman.     He  may  l)e  in 


DEJ.IVERY.  123 

earnest,  but  he  is  quiet ;  and  the  more  earnest  lie  is 
tlie  more  significantly  quiet  he  will  be.  Low  tones, 
measured  utterance,  few  words,  mark  the  deepest 
passion  among  the  better  grades  of  society. 

Some  speakers  employ  a  sustained  tone,  pitched 
on  a  high  key,  like  a  rude  sort  of  chanting. 
Possibly,  indeed,  chanting  originated  in  the  long- 
drawn  recitative  of  prayers  and  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture. Among  some  sects  it  seems  to  be  the  essential 
sign  of  an  orthodox  and  edifying  discourse ;  just  as 
the  soldiers  of  Cromwell  proved  their  orthodoxy  by 
their  nasal  pronunciation.  This  is  nearly  intolerable 
to  cultivated  ears.  A  variety  in  the  tones  and  natu- 
ralness of  inflection  are  to  be  sought  by  one  who 
would  please  as  well  as  instruct  the  hearer. 

It  would  seem  to  be  superfluous  to  inculcate  the 
precept,  that  all  levity  is  to  be  avoided  in  the  pulpit, 
were  we  not  so  often  made  painfully  aware  that  the 
precept  is  necessary.  A  judge  upon  the  bench,  in 
a  case  of  life  and  death,  allows  no  levity  in  court. 
The  business  is  a  serious  one,  and  must  be  seriously 
administered.  A  preacher  derogates  from  his  own 
influence,  and  lowers  the  dignity  of  his  ofiice,  very 
much  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  humor  which 
he  allows  to  creep  into  his  style.  'Nor  is  a  reputation 
for  wit,  outside  the  pulpit,  a  desirable  one  in  a  minis- 
ter. It  is  said  that  the  late  Senator  Morton,  of  In- 
diana, was  extremely  witty  in  his  youth.  He  made 
one  speech,  at  the  beginning  of  his  public  life,  which 
proved  that  he  had  extraordinary  command  of  the 


124  KXTKMPOKE  PREACHING. 

risibilities  of  an  audience.  But  afterwards  lie  refused 
to  indulge  this  faculty ;  for  he  said,  the  people  do 
not  choose  for  grave  aifairsaman  who  amuses  them, 
but  one  whom  they  respect  for  a  serious  and  weighty 
character. 

Equally  to  be  condemned,  with  levity  of  speech, 
is  levity  of  demeanor.  All  hand-shaking  in  the  pul- 
pit, or  jovial  welcome  of  brother  ministers,  seems  to 
us  a  breach  of  decorum.  They  have  come,  not  for 
a  display  of  good-fellowship,  but  to  lead  the  people 
in  the  ^vorship  of  God,  and  their  conduct  should  be, 
in  all  respects,  consistent  with  that  design.  To 
beckon  to  the  janitor,  or  select  passages  in  the  Bible, 
or  turn  over  the  notes  of  a  sermon,  during  the  sing- 
ing of  hymns  and  anthems,  although  often  done  by 
the  most  pious  ministers,  is  really  an  impropriety. 
Suppose  a  deacon  should  do  the  same,  while  the 
minister  is  praying  !  If  the  singing  means  anything, 
it  is  a  service  of  praise  to  God,  in  which  the  pastor 
should  join,  as  well  as  the  rest.  The  selection  of 
chapters  and  arrangement  of  notes  are  better  at- 
tended to  before  the  service  begins.  We  confess, 
also,  that  we  do  not  like  to  see  the  pulpit  turned  into 
a  place  for  adjusting  the  dress,  by  removing  overcoat, 
gloves  and  rubbers,  disposing  hat  and  umbrella,  set- 
tling the  cravat,  and  the  like.  It  savors  of  simpli- 
city and  unconventionality,  to  be  sure  ;  but  it  is  that 
of  the  backwoods.  What  gentleman  would  do  such 
things  in  a  drawing-room  ?  And  why  should  a  pul- 
pit be  inferior,  in  its  claim  upon  the  small  pro- 
prieties of  life  ? 


DELIVERY.  125 

But  it  is  time  to  note  the  positive  qualities  that 
make  up  tlie  excellence  of  delivery,  that  all  our  at- 
tention may  not  be  taken  up  witli  noting  defects. 
One  shonld,  ahove  all,  strive  to  be,  and  to  appear, 
thoroughly  in  earnest.  This  is  the  most  essential 
feature  of  a  good  delivery,  l^o  other  excellencies 
can  compensate  for  its  absence.  Its  presence  will 
outweigh  many  defects. 

The  anecdote  of  Betterton,  the  player,  is  worth  re- 
calling in  this  connection.  When  asked,  by  a  prel- 
ate of  the  English  church,  "  how  it  came  to  pass 
that  the  clergy,  who  spoke  of  things  real,  affected 
the  people  so  little,  and  the  players,  who  spoke  of 
things  barely  imaginary,  affected  them  so  much  ?  he 
said, '  My  lord,  I  can  assign  but  one  reason  :  we  play- 
ers speak  of  things  imaginary  as  though  they  were 
real,  and  too  many  of  the  clergy  speak  of  things 
real  as  though  they  were  imaginary.'  " 

'No  one  desires  the  preacher  to  become  an  actor, 
in  scriptural  phrase,  a  ''  hypocrite  "  ;  but  if  he  does 
not  profoundly  feel  the  truths  he  is  uttering,  he 
would  better  not  speak  at  all ;  if  he  does  feel  them, 
his 'tones,  gestures,  features,  with  proper  limitation, 
should  testify  to  the  depth  of  his  emotion.  If  he 
is  aroused  at  all  during  the  week,  let  it  be  in  the 
hour  when  he  is  speaking  the  great  truths  of  the 
gospel,  and  immortal  destinies  are  hanging  on  his 
words.  A  listless,  perfunctory  manner,  or  languid 
voice,  is  an  insult  to  a  grave  assembly,  which 
has,  presumably,  gathered  for  matters  of  concern. 

12* 


126  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

It  would  not  be  tolerated  anywhere  but  in  the  pul- 
pit ;  it  should  not  need  to  be  tolerated  there.  If  the 
speaker  is  really  anxious  to  do  good  it  will  not.  His 
longing  to  benefit  men  will  throw  ardor  into  his  voice, 
pathos  into  his  tones,  alertness  into  every  movement. 
A  sympathetic  voice,  penetrative  to  the  heart,  and 
seeming  to  sway  it  by  unconscious  power,  is  a  charm- 
ing quality  of  some  speakers.  It  would  seem  to  be 
a  natural  gift.  There  do  not  appear  to  be  any  rules 
for  its  successful  cultivation,  save  in  the  development 
of  an  affectionate  interest  in  the  congregation,  indi- 
vidually. It  is  the  quality  called  "  Unction  "  in  the 
schools,  a  tender  interest  in  the  hearer,  and  desire  for 
his  improvement,  manifested  in  the  very  tones  in 
which  he  is  addressed.  Unction  is  the  expression  of 
sym.pathetic  emotion.  Some  men  are  more  easily 
aroused  and  more  expressive  of  feeling  than  others ; 
but  all  can  cultivate  those  qualities  of  heart,  which 
create  a  sympathy  between  pastor  and  people.  If 
the  minister  prays  much  for  families  under  his 
charge,  mentioning  them  by  name  at  the  throne  of 
grace  ;  if  he  studies  their  peculiarities  with  a  view 
to  using  arguments  and  motives  that  shall  bear  on 
their  conversion ;  if,  as  he  looks  over  the  congrega- 
tion, he  sees  one  or  another,  who  is  near  the  King- 
dom and  may  possibly  be  brought  in  that  day,  there 
is  apt  to  be  something  of  this  personal  interest 
manifest  in  voice  and  manner.  The  magnetic  cur- 
rents of  a  community  of  feeling  flow  through 
preacher  and  people.     They  regard  him  a  friend  and 


DELIVERY.  127 

helper,  who  is  interceding  for  them  with  heaven, 
and  longs  to  save  them  from  peril. 

Such  feeling  may  be  counterfeited,  but  the  counter- 
feit will  presently  be  detected,  and  then  the  speaker 
will  have  no  more  influence  with  that  congregation. 
To  be  effective  he  must  be  animated  by  a  genuine, 
not  a  simulated,  emotion.  If  he  wishes  them  to 
weep,  he  must  weep  himself.  The  tones  of  pretended 
pathos  do  not  w^arm,  any  more  than  a  painted  fire. 
But  the  voice  of  real  passion  asserts  itself,  and  strikes 
a  responsive  chord  in  the  heart  of  the  dullest  hearer. 

Still,it  is  tobe  doubted  whether  a  minister  should 
seek  to  be  wrought  up  into  this  rather  ecstatic  condi- 
tion, every  Sunday.  A  tearful  interest  in  souls  is 
always,  theoretically,  the  proper  sentiment  of  a 
preacher;  but,  practically,  it  is  not  likely  to  be  al- 
ways his  actual  feeling.  ITe  may,  it  is  true,  strive 
to  aw^aken  his  dormant  emotions  ;  but  even  if  that 
were  possible,  it  is  not  desirable,  for  the  best  eifect 
on  the  audience,  to  have  all  Sabbaths  alike  in  tlieir 
impression.  There  are,  in  the  Scriptures,  texts  of 
cheer  and  hope,  the  trumpet-call  to  battle  and  vic- 
tory. There  are  themes  pertaining  to  the  manly 
duties  of  a  Christian  in  the*  world,  demanding  a 
calm,  judicial  manner,  and  tones  free  from  passion. 
Sometimes,  the  grave  consequences  of  sin  will  clothe 
the  pulpit  in  the  terrors  of  the  law,  and  seem  to  re- 
echo the  thunders  of  Sinai.  If  the  preacher  attempts 
to  be  pathetic  on  every  occasion,  he  throws  away 
the  opportunity  of  different  and  equally  important 


128  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

impressions  ;  and,  besides,  gives  his  services  a  monot- 
ony, which  is  always  to  be  avoided.  Rather  let  the 
emotion  felt,  and  which  appears  in  the  delivery, 
be  such  as  most  naturally  arises  from  the  subject, 
whether  of  courage,  confidence,  consolation,  appre- 
liension,  or  practical  resolve. 

It  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  extemporaneous 
preaching,  that  the  speaker  can  look  continuously 
at  his  audience.  He  is  not  under  the  necessity  of 
bending  the  eyes  upon  his  notes  every  moment. 
There  is  power  in  the  eye,  no  less  than  in  the  voice, 
to  convey  all  varieties  of  emotion — indignation,  sur- 
prise, determination,  appeal.  How  important  an 
item  of  the  general  impression  this  is,  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  all  tlie  people  instinctively  try  to  look 
at  the  preacher.  If  there  are  pillars  in  the  sanctu- 
ary, those  who  sit  behind  them  are  uneasy  until  they 
can  change  their  position,  although  they  may  hear 
perfectly  well;  for  they  know  they  shall  better 
understand,  if  they  can  see  the  eyes  and  face  of  the 
minister.  If  the  latter  remembers  this  fact,  he  will 
refrain,  perhaps,  from  gazing  steadfastly  at  a  remote 
corner,  as  some  do  ;  and  avoid  looking  all  the  time 
to  the  right  or  the  left,  as  others.  He  will  at  least 
endeavor  to  look  around  upon  the  congregation  in  a 
natural  way,  so  that  each  one  may  imagine  that  his 
pastor's  eye  is  upon  him,  and  that  a  part  of  the  ser- 
mon may  be  meant  for  him  individually. 

To  preach  with  the  eyes  shut,  as  a  great  French 
preacher  is  said  to  have  done,  belongs  to  the  artifi- 


DELIVERY.  129 

ciality  of  a  nieiiiorized  discourse,  rather  than  to  the 
iiaturahiess  of  extempore  speech.  We  do  not  sup- 
pose any  ministers  at  the  present  day  would  go  so 
far  as  to  shut  their  eyes ;  but  the  introversion  of  the 
mind  in  striving  to  recall  a  half-remembered  plan, 
gives  them  such  an  appearance  of  not  seeing  any- 
thing, that  their  eyes  might  as  well  be  shut.  A  per- 
fect familiarity  with  the  scheme  of  the  sermon,  so 
that  no  effort  is  needed  to  recall  it,  frees  all  the 
faculties  for  immediate  action,  gives  opportunity  to 
look  at  the  audience,  adds  animation  to  the  feature, 
and  renders  the  whole  discourse  more  free  and  effec- 
tive. 

After  the  service  is  ended,  the  preacher  will  be 
wise  if  he  seeks,  by  rest  and  solitude,  to  restore  his 
nerves  to  their  normal  condition.  He  should  recol- 
lect that  mind  and  body  have  been  under  intense 
exertion  for  two  hours  or  more.  The  blood  swells 
the  veins  of  head  and  throat,  feet  and  hands  are 
cold,  all  parts  of  the  body  are  languid  from  weariness. 
The  more  the  minister  has  put  of  his  life  into  his 
preaching,  the  more  exhausted  he  will  be.  If  "  fresh 
as  a  lark,"  probably  the  people  will  not  be  quite  so 
fresh.  'Now,  in  this  condition  of  nervous  exhaus- 
tion, to  expose  the  lungs  to  the  air,  is  to  endanger 
taking  cold ;  to  sing,  is  to  rasp  the  throat  with  an 
altogether  needless  labor  and  roughen  the  voice  for 
the  evening  service.  Especially,  let  him  beware  of 
the  siren  voice  of  the  Sunday-school  superintendent, 
who  has  a  class  of  ladies,  that  are  anxious  to  have 


130  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

their  clear  jDastor  for  a  teaclier.  H  e  will  niidoubtedly 
yield  to  sucli  a  seductive  invitation,  bnt  will  do  so 
at  his  cost.  We  do  not  remember  any  pastor  teach- 
ing, without  breaking  down  in  a  few  months  ;  that 
is,  if  he  had  any  merit  as  a  preacher.  There  are  men 
of  iron,  or  of  wood,  who  can  conduct  morning  ser- 
vice, Bible-class,  afternoon  mission,  evening  service, 
and  still  be  ready  for  a  minister's  meeting  on  jVIon- 
day.  They  can  do  so  much,  because,  so  to  speak, 
they  do  so  little.  They  put  no  exhaustive  labor 
npon  the  sermon,  and  tlierefore  can  teach  afterwards, 
as  well  as  not. 

The  principal  men  of  a  cliurcli  ought  to  be  made 
to  understand  that  true  preaching  is  a  source  of  great 
weariness,  for  the  time,  and  thej  will  generally  pre- 
fer that  the  minister  should  not  waste  on  a  few 
scholars  the  energy  that  properly  belongs  to  the 
whole  congregation. 

The  preacher  will  be  thankful  for  a  few  words  of 
kindly  appreciation  from  any  who  have  been  bene- 
fited by  the  sermon  ;  but  let  him  be  very  careful  not 
to  seek  for  compliments.  It  is  a  weakness  resulting 
from  vanity,  to  turn,  what  was  supposed  to  be  for 
edification,  into  an  occasion  of  self-laudation.  It 
destroys  the  efiect  of  the  preaching  wherever  seen 
or  suspected.  It  renders  the  preacher  wretchedly 
uncomfortable,  for  the  praise  will  seldom  equal  his 
desires.  If  he  has  sincerely  done  his  best,  he  may 
with  confidence  leave  the  result  with  God.  If  he 
has  done  less  than  his  best,  there  is  place  for  repent- 
ance, in  doing  better  next  time. 


X. 

PHYSICAL  CONDITIONS. 

Although,  at  first  thought,  it  might  be  supposed 
that  one  earnestly  engaged  in  his  work  could  rise 
superior  to  all  considerations  of  merely  physical  and 
material  matters,  yet  the  fact  is  far  otherwise. 
Our  nature  is  two-fold :  while  by  the  spirit  related 
to  the  skies,  our  bodies  hold  us  down  to  earth.  The 
soul  is  absolutely  dependent  on  the  body  for  its 
means  of  communication  Avitli  the  outer  world,  and 
whatever  affects  the  condition  of  the  corporeal  frame 
helps  or  hinders  the  free  communication  of  feeling 
and  thought.  Even  an  apostle  was  hindered  by  his 
thorn  in  the  flesh,  though  divine  grace  enabled  him 
to  endure  it.  And  there  are  many  thorns  ready  to 
pierce  the  flesh  of  the  extemporaneous  preacher, 
and  detract  from  the  efliciency  of  his  most  careful 
preparations. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  no  mean  advantage  to  have 
the  room  in  which  the  services  are  held  in  perfect 
condition  for  the  comfort  of  the  congregation.  If 
the  church  be  smoky,  or  cold,  or  replete  with  fur- 
nace gas ;  if  the  windows  are  dim  by  day  and  the 
lamps  are  dull  at  night ;  if  ventilation  is  neglected, 
so  that -five  hundred  people  are  in  a  semi- asphyxiated 


132  EXTEMPORE    TREACHING. 

condition  from  lack  of  ox^^gen ;  if  many  are  going 
out,  or  the  cliildren  are  gathering  noisily  in  the 
porch  for  the  Sunday-school ;  if  the  pulpit  is  an 
eyrie  perched  on  high,  from  which  the  minister 
peers  out  as  an  eagle  from  his  nest ;  if  there  be  a 
large  church  and  a  small  congregation ;  if  the  choir 
is  tittering  and  whispering  in  consultation  over  the 
concluding  anthem ;  if  the  day  is  intensely  hot,  so 
that  the  only  animation  is  in  the  languid  movement 
of  fans ;  or  if  the  thunder  is  reverberating  in  the 
heavens  and  creating  apprehension  of  a  wetting 
before  the  congregation  can  reach  home :  vain  are 
the  efforts  of  the  most  eloquent  orator.  These  are 
physical  conditions  which  mar  success,  and  to  cor- 
rect them,  when  possible,  is  of  first  importance. 

What  preacher  has  not  felt  his  heart  sink  within 
him  when,  after  a  week  of  laborious  preparation,  he 
came  to  the  chnrcli  on  Sunday  morning  and  found 
that  the  fires  had  been  neglected,  or  the  room,  for 
any  reason,  uncomfortable  ?  He  bids  farewell  to  all 
hopes  of  moving  or  molding  his  audience  for  that 
day.  Indeed  he  knows  if  the  unfavorable  conditions 
are  repeated  many  times  he  will  presently  be  speak- 
ing to  empty  benches ;  for,  excepting  the  old  guard, 
which  comes  in  any  event,  the  people  loving  their 
ease  will  stay  at  home  for  the  balance  of  the  season. 
We  have  known,  in  a  western  city,  a  few  cold  Sun- 
days, at  the  beginning,  diminish  an  audience  for  the 
entire  winter. 

Accordingly,  if  the  pastor  is  a  practical  man,  he 


PHYSICAl.    CONDITIONS.  13^ 

will,  in  some  way,  see  to  it  that  the  church  is  in  a 
proper  condition  for  the  comfort  of  the  people.  He 
will  recognize  the  im])ortance  of  heat  and  ventila- 
tion in  their  relation  to  the  gospel,  nor  fondly  imag- 
ine that  his  people  are  superior  to  atmospheric  influ- 
ences. In  these  days  of  stained  glass  and  somber 
interiors  it  is  difficult  to  get  a  cheerful  light,  and  yet 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  preach  successfully  in  the 
gloom.  People,  in  spite  of  aesthetic  canons,  love  a 
bright  room,  and  hate  a  dark  one,  without  knowing 
why.  It  is  impossible  to  have  an  exhilarated  audi- 
ence in  a  somber  apartment.  The  managers  of  the 
theatre  understand  this,  and  however  old  or  shabby 
the  building  may  be,  tliey  see  that  it  is  abundantly 
lighted.  A  minister  cannot  always  control  the 
lighting  of  his  church,  but  if  he  appreciates  its 
importance,  he  may  educate  the  trustees  to  his  ideas, 
after  a  while. 

To  preach  in  an  ancient  country  school-house, 
beginning  "  at  early  candle-light,"  where  the  candle 
is  a  taper  of  tallow  and  dimly  casts  a  feeble  glimmer 
among  the  benches,  is  such  a  trial  as  can  be  sur- 
mounted only  by  the  highest  devotion.  And  to 
have  a  good  prayer-meeting  in  such  a  room  is  an 
almost  impossible  triumph  of  faith. 

It  is  a  hard  matter  to  preach  with  satisfaction  on 
a  rainy  day.  The  church  is  gloomy  on  account  of 
tlie  storm.  The  audience  is  thin  and  unresponsive. 
The  minister  dislikes  to  waste  an  elaborate  prepara- 
tion upon  so  few,  and  increases  the  dullness  of  the 

13 


134  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

occasion  bj  tlie  indifferent  repetition  of  an  old  ser- 
mon. This  is  a  decided  mistake.  Such  an  audience 
deserves  the  best  sermon  tlie  preacher  can  give. 
They  ought  to  be  repaid  for  coming  out  through  the 
rain,  that  they  may  be  encouraged  to  come  again 
and  bring  others  with  them.  At  the  same  time, 
they  will  need  a  different  kind  of  discourse  from  the 
ordinary  fair-day  audience.  It  should  be  more 
weighty  in  thought,  more  packed  with  argument, 
less  illustrated  and  ornamented,  more  practical 
an d^ warm  with  fervid  appeals  that  may  overcome 
the  chilliness  of  the  day.  Such  changes  in  a 
sermon  are  easily  made  ])y  any  one  practiced  in 
extemporization . 

It  has,  of  late  years,  become  the  genial  custom 
of  many  churches  to  adorn  the  pulpit  with  flowers. 
These  give  a  homelike  appearance,  and  add  bright- 
ness to  the  sanctuary.  But  the  fashion  is  easily 
overdone.  A  few  roses  carelessly  put  in  a  pretty 
vase  are  a  modest  and  proper  ornament.  A  pulpit 
embowered  in  potted  plants,  trailing  vines,  elaborate 
bouquets  of  hot-house  flowers,  and  made-pieces, 
crosses,  harps,  and  the  like,  looks  like  a  florist's 
window.  If  the  preacher  speaks  from  a  bower  of 
camellias  it  is  hard  to  take  his  words  seriousl}^  It 
seems  as  if  he  must  be  a  part  of  the  show.  More- 
over, a  very  reprehensible  spirit  of  rivalry  is  some- 
times awakened  by  such  displays,  among  ladies  of 
different  churches,  to  see  which  can  outdo  the  other. 
The    Christmas    or   Easter   decorations    become    a 


PHYSICAL    CONDITIONS.  135 

measure  of  their  purses,  rather  than  of  their  devo- 
tion, and  a  mere  attraction  to  an  idle  crowd. 

No  minister,  who  is  a  lover  of  mnsic,  can  fail  to 
be  affected  by  the  anthems  rendered  by  the  choir, 
and  by  the  mode  in  which  the  hymns  are  snng. 
Good  and  appropriate  music  lifts  both  pastor  and 
people  into  an  atmosphere  of  devotion  and  spiritual 
sensibility  very  favorable  to  reception  of  gospel  truth. 
If  the  leader  has  good  judginent  in  the  selection  of 
opening  pieces,  and  is  willing  to  listen  to  suggestions 
respecting  the  tunes  set  to  the  hymns,  let  the  minis- 
ter cherish  him  with  thankfulness.  But,  unfortu- 
nately, such  choir-leaders  are  not  always  to  be 
found. 

The  circumstances  which  afi'ect  the  physical  con- 
dition of  the  speaker,  are  65qually  important  witli 
those  relating  to  the  comfort  of  the  congregation. 
In  order  to  preach  with  ease  and  effectiveness  he 
needs  to  be,  as  nearly  as  possible,  in  perfect  health. 
There  are  instances,  to  be  sure,  of  clergymen  who 
have  preached  with  almost  superhuman  eloquence, 
while  agonized  with  nervous  pain  ;  but  it  was  done 
at  a  ruinous  expense  of  the  vital  energy,  and  they 
were  soon  disabled,  or  in  their  graves.  To  preach 
through  a  long  life,  and  to  preach  with  a  maximum 
of  power,  is  only  possiljle  to  one  who  enjoys  vigor- 
ous health.  The  great  preachers  have  been,  for  the 
most  part,  robust  men,  capable  of  any  exertion,  and 
able  to  endure  any  fatigue.  Good  health  is  an 
almost  indispensable  coudition  of  success  in  the  min- 


136  KXTKMPOHE    PREACHING. 

isti'j  :  the  preservation  of  it,  tlierefore,  is  a  sacred 
diitj.  All  measures  of  exercise,  sleep,  diet,  that 
conduce  to  health,  are  moral  obligations  upon  a 
minister ;  if  he  Avould  present,  not  only  his  spirit, 
but  his  body,  an  acceptable  offering  to  the  Lord. 

The  speaker  should  beware  of  entering  the  pulpit 
weary  and  overworked.  Of  course,  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  avoid  this,  but  such  should  be  his 
endeavor.  To  this  end,  very  little  work  ought  to  be 
done,  after  noon  of  Saturday.  The  preparations 
should  all  be  brought  within  the  previous  days.  To 
work  late  on  Saturday  evening,  or  to  rise  with  fever- 
ish haste  on  Sunday  morning  and  complete  the  ser- 
mon, may  be  possible  for  one  who  reads,  but  will 
ruin  the  effectiveness  of  an  extempore  preacher.  In 
one  of  his  most  useful  papers,  entitled  "  The  mind's 
maximum,"  Rev.  E.  E,  Hale  shows  that  only  a  given 
amount  of  the  best  work  can  be  obtained  from  the 
mind  in  any  one  day.  From  two  to  four  hours  of 
original  composition  are  the  most  that  can  be 
expected  from  the  most  fertile  brain.  If  it  tries  to 
do  more,  the  product  is  inferior,  and  the  brain  is 
prematurely  exhausted.  We  believe  Sir  Walter 
Scott  expressed  the  same  opinion.  This  is  a  useful 
hint  for  those  who  are  disposed  to  defer  their  prepa- 
ration till  Sunday  morning.  There  are,  if  they  have 
two  services,  three  or  four  hours  before  them  of 
severe  labor,  when  they  will  need  all  their  energy 
in  its  most  concentrated  form.  To  exhaust  it,  pre- 
viously, by  hard  work  in  the  study,  is  as  unwise  as 


PHYSICAL    CONDITIONS.  137 

it  would  be  to  work  a  race-horse  for  some  hours  be- 
fore he  enters  the  lists. 

In  order  to  the  perfect  self-mastery  which  is 
requisite  for  success  in  speaking,  it  is  desirable  to 
secure,  if  possible,  a  quiet  hour,  before  entering  the 
pul]3it.  If  there  is  a  comfortable  study  at  the 
cliurch,  and  the  preacher  can  be  free  from  interrup- 
tion, this  is  the  best  place  for  linal  preparation  ;  for 
it  can  be  continued  till  the  organ  sounds  the  vol- 
untary, and  no  long  ^valk  or  greeting  of  friends  will 
divert  his  thoughts,  between  the  study  and  the  pul- 
pit. But  if  no  room  be  available  at  the  church,  his 
study  at  home  must  be  made  to  answer,  as  well  as  it 
can,  the  same  purpose.  No  severe  effort  is  contem- 
plated in  this  final  hour,  but  merely  a  meditative 
review  of  the  plan  of  the  sermon,  and,  as  it  were,  a 
gathering  up  of  all  the  faculties  for  the  coming  occa- 
sion. Then,  with  whatever  trepidation,  he  may 
enter  the  sacred  desk,  conscious  that  he  has  at  least 
done  his  best  to  deserve  success. 

However,  with  all  the  precautions  that  ingenuity 
can  suggest,  or  prudence  take,  there  will  often  be 
dull  days  in  whicli  the  mind  will  not  work.  There 
may  be  some  languid  condition  of  the  atmosphere, 
or-a  morbid  state  of  the  nerves,  rendering  it  impos- 
sible to  accomplish  any  satisfactory  results.  Even 
the  reading  of  the  Bible  becomes  a  difficult  task  at 
these  times;  the  reader  miscalls  the  words  of  the 
familiar  chapter,  and  loses  his  place  in  the  periods. 
It  is  a  burden  to  lead  the  devotions  of  the  people  in 

13* 


138  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

prayer, — the  halting  tongue  refusing  to  utter  the 
customar}^  petitions.  Nothing  goes  aright,  because 
the  preacher  himself,  in  his  physical  system,  is 
wrong.  On  such  a  day,  our  counsel  is  to  make  no 
attempt  at  extempore  preaching  if  possible  to  avoid 
it.  There  is  no  probability  of  success.  The  harp 
is  out  of  tunc,  and  must  be  retuned  before  it  will 
render  harmonious  music.  No  need,  however,  to  be 
discouraged  on  this  account.  Such  days  of  languor 
come  to  all  men,  in  all  professions.  In  this  condi- 
tion he  must  have  recourse  to  a  manuscript;  and 
even  then  he  will  probably  go  home  disgusted,  and 
consult  his  wife  on  the  propriety  of  retiring  to  a 
farm. 

If  the  state  of  his  i^rivy  purse  will  allow  him  to 
run  off  for  a  week,  a  short  journey  is  the  best  cor- 
rective of  this  nervous  condition.  New  sights,  new 
faces,  the  excitement  of  travel,  will  restore  his  sys- 
tem to  its  wonted  equilibrium.  Or,  if  he  be  a  lover 
of  nature,  he  may  take  a  tent,  with  rod  and  gun,  and 
hie  to  the  woods.  There,  on  the  border  of  a  lake, 
catching  and  cleaning  the  fish,  or  shooting  the 
plump  ducks  which  shall  furnish  his  dinner,  his 
vexations  will  pass  away  like  the  mist  of  the  morn- 
ing, and  he  will  come  back  to  his  parish  with  a  new 
heart  for  the  work. 

A  great  temperance  in  diet  is  advisable  before 
speaking.  Only  so  much  food  is  needed  as  can  be 
easily  digested  before  the  time  of  service.  A  hearty 
meal,  which  leaves  a  sense  of  repletion,  dulls  the 


PHYSICAL    CONDITIONS,  139 

faculties,  aiul  renders  difficult  the  exceptional  men- 
tal activity  required  of  the  speaker.  In  this  parti- 
cular each  man  must  be  his  own  judge,  but  it  will 
be  found  that  the  less  there  is  eaten  on  Sunday  the 
better  the  sermons  will  be.  If  he  can  secure  an  in- 
terval of  absolute  rest  between  the  services,  a  great 
point  is  gained.  In  some  parts  of  the  country  the 
two  sermons  come  so  near  together  as  to  allow  of  no 
real  repose.  But  this  is  one  of  the  old-fashioned 
burdens,  which  the  people  are  learning  to  throw  off. 
If  there  are  two  services,  it  is  far  better  to  have 
them  morning  and  evening,  allowing  thus  a  time  of 
recuperation,  both  to  pastor  and  people. 

Few  pious  customs  were  more  irrational  than  the 
habit,  prevalent  in  some  quarters  a  half  century  ago, 
of  three  sermons  on  a  Sunday.  The  people  went  to 
sleep  under  them,  and  no  marvel.  How  could  any- 
1)ody's  spiritual  digestion  endure  three  solid  sermons 
in  one  day  'i 

We  do  not,  however,  so  much  applaud  the  grow- 
ing habit  of  a  single  service  on  Sunday.  While  one 
able  sermon  is  enough  for  one  hearer,  yet  there  are 
always  many  who  cannot  be  present  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  some  who,  being  tired  with  the  week's 
work,  will  not.  For  these  an  evening  service  is 
desirable.  To  give  up  the  evening  to  a  young 
people's  meeting,  or  prayer-meeting  of  the  elders, 
or  to  close  the  church  altogether,  unless  there  are 
other  churches  near,  is  to  leave,  in  the  cities,  the 
open  door  for  theaters  and  concerts.     Some  place  of 


140  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

gatliering,  some  mode  of  spending  tlie  evening,  the 
yonng  people  will  have.  A  bright,  attractive  service 
in  church,  with  a  plenty  of  good  singing,  and  a 
short,  pithy  extemporaneous  sermon,  will  not  indeed 
deplete  tlie  tlieatre,  but  will  be  a  formidable  rival 
to  it. 

Nor  should  any  minister  in  good  health  demur  at 
the  amount  of  work  involved  in  two  services.  Tlie 
talk  about  the  unendurable  labor  involved  in  ''  two 
sermons  a  week ''  is  nonsensical.  Any  lawyer  in 
good  practice  does  as  much  speaking ;  any  journalist 
does  as  much  writing,  as  is  now  ordinarily  required 
of  clergymen.  It  is  the  innumerable  calls  of  an 
inferior  importance  which  fritter  away  his  time  and 
wear  him  down.  Let  him  exercise  a  wise  economy 
in  the  matter  of  conventions,  ministerial  gatherings, 
reform  meetings,  sociables,  and  tea-parties,  and  he 
will  have  left  abundant  energy  and  time  to  prepare 
one  written  and  one  unwritten  sermon  a  week. 
Besides,  there  are  many  alleviations,  from  exchanges, 
from  special  union  services  and  Sabl)ath-school  con- 
certs, from  the  advent  of  distinguished  brethren  who 
must  be  invited  to  preach,  from  the  perennial  agents 
of  the  benevolent  societies.  There  is  also  a  relief  to 
the  throat,  brain,  and  entire  system,  in  alternating 
the  two  styles  of  preaching.  The  strain  of  a  writ- 
ten sermon  is  altogether  different  from  that  of  an 
extempore  one.  To  pass  from  one  to  the  other  is 
less  of  a  burden  than  a  pleasure. 

There  is  also,  in  the  different  modes  of  preparation 


PHYSECAL    CONDITIONS.  141 

required  by  the  two  styles  of  sermonizing,  a  sensi- 
ble relief  from  that  inertness  of  mind  which  is  so 
often  the  bane  of  literary  composition.  There  are 
not  many  hours  in  a  week  in  which  the  brain  is  in 
exactly  the  condition  to  evolve  the  finished  thought 
needed  for  a  written  sermon.  There  may,  possibly,  be 
enough  for  one :  there  will  hardly  be  sufficient  for 
two.  But  lierein  is  the  advantage  of  another  style 
of  composition.  The  whole  mental  attitude,  the 
entire  method  of  production,  are  different  in  the 
extempore  sermon.  There  is  no  need  to  finish  any- 
thing as  yet.  The  mind  may  be  in  a  discursive, 
apprehensive  state.  It  can  ramble  at  will  over  the 
realms  of  thought.  The  brain  is  rested  by  being 
out  of  harness  for  a  time,  and  can  browse  like 
a  horse  out  at  pasture.  The  extempore  sermon  can 
be  prepared  during  a  ramble  on  the  country  roads, 
or  in  a  long  drive  over  the  hills,  or  swinging  idly  in 
a  hammock,  or  dreaming  between  the  paragraphs  of 
a  favorite  book.  The  thought  grows  and  accumu- 
lates, half  unconsciously,  until  in  some  clear  and 
crystalline  hour  it  suddenly  assumes  the  proportions 
of  a  discourse.  Difference  of  occupation  rests  the 
brain,  and  the  two  sermons  demand  but  a  little 
more  effort  than  one  would  have  done. 

In  the  felicities  of  domestic  life,  we  have  noticed 
that  the  anxious  mother  of  a  single  child  often 
wastes  as  much  solicitude  over  her  one  darling  as 
another  bestows  on  a  family  of  six ;  and  we  have 
been  reminded  of  this  in  seeing  how  much  agonized 


142  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

reconsideration  can  be  given  to  a  single  sermon,  by 
a  minister  who  preaches  only  once  on  Sunday,  as 
compared  to  the  cheerful  activity  of  one  who  has 
two  services  on  the  Sabbath,  and  several  additional 
ones  during  the  week.  There  is  a  point,  beyond 
which  the  refinement  of  a  discourse  is  rather  an  in- 
jury to  it  than  otherwise.  On  the  average,  each  of 
the  two  sermons  will  be  better  ones,  so  far  as  the 
true  purpose  of  a  sermon  is  concerned,  than  if 
the  entire  week  had  been  spent  upon  either  of  them 
separately.  This  may  seem  paradoxical,  but  it  will 
be  23roved  by  experiment. 

In  order  to  secure  the  full  benefit  of  variety  in 
sermons,  there  should  be  a  difference  in  other  re- 
spects also.  To  change  from  the  written  to  the  ex- 
tempore style  is  a  very  great  relief,  and  it  is  equally 
a  relief  to  alter  the  entire  scope  and  purpose  of  the 
evening  sermon.  If  the  morning  discourse  was  a 
spiritual  meditation,  let  the  evening  be  some  theme 
of  practical  morality.  If  the  mind  of  preacher  and 
people  has  been  exercised  upon  a  profound  doctrine, 
there  may  well  be,  at  the  second  service,  a  descrip- 
tive sermon  of  some  Old  Testament  narrative,  with 
appropriate  lessons.  A  total  change  of  subject, 
treatment,  and  manner  rests  the  audience  and  the 
speaker.  A  successful  clergyman  expressed  the 
opinion,  some  years  ago,  that  there  was  too  much 
preaching ;  one  sermon  a  day  was  enough,  he  said. 
But  when  he  came  to  explain  his  meaning,  it  appear- 
ed that  by  "sermon  "  he  meant  a  spiritual  medita- 


PHYSICAL    CONDITIONS.  143 

tion  calculated  to  affect  the  feelings  profoundly,  and 
that  he  thought  the  evening  should  be  devoted  to 
discussion  of  practical  subjects  of  duty  and  morality. 
He  acted  upon  that  method  himself,  and  his  even- 
ing services  were  always  crowded,  although  the 
"  lecture,"  as  he  called  it,  might  be  an  hour  long. 

It  conduces  greatly  to  the  minister's  comfort,  and 
to  his  ability  to  endure  a  large  amount  of  work,  if 
he  has  learned  how  properly  to  manage  his  voice. 
The  number  who  become  disabled,  by  what  is  known 
as  "  the  minister's  sore  throat,"  is  much  greater  than 
it  should  be.  This  appears  to  be  induced  partly  by 
a  monotonous  manner  of  speaking,  and  partly  by 
defective  acoustic  properties  of  the  churches.  Those 
who  read  sermons  are  very  apt  to  fall  into  a  regular 
rhythmic  cadence,  the  voice  ascending  and  descend- 
ing through  a  limited  range  of  notes,  from  exordium 
to  peroration.  This  wearies  the  audience,  and  w^ears 
on  the  throat  of  the  clergyman,  until  it  becomes  so 
inflamed,  that  a  very  little  additional  exposure  brings 
on  an  attack  of  bronchitis.  To  cliange  from  the 
wTitten  to  the  extempore  style  will  partiallj^  remedy 
this  difficulty,  by  bringing  a  different  set  of  muscles 
into  play.  Speaking  is  different  from  reading,  in 
many  ways.  The  head  is  more  erect,  the  chest  ex- 
panded, the  whole  action  of  the  body  more  vigor- 
ous, emotion  and  voice  more  varied. 

But  extempore  speakers  often  fall  into  a  mono- 
tone, or  still  worse,  a  sing-song  manner.  The  former 
would  seem  to  arise  from  a  lack  of  interest  in  what 


144  EXTKMPOliE    rUEACIIING. 

tlie}^  are  saying.  At  least,  it  is  difficult  to  see  liow  the 
voice  can  be  monotonous,  if  the  breast  is  surcharged 
wit] I  a  variety  of  emotions,  such  as  would  be  appro- 
priate to  the  different  parts  of  a  sermon.  If  so,  the 
remedy  would  be  to  utter  no  word  which  the  speaker 
does  not  feel.  Hardly  any  one  speaks  monotonously 
in  private  conversation.  He  is  animated,  interested, 
and  his  tones  are  varied,  as  a  matter  of  course.  To 
cure  a  sing-song  delivery  is  niore  difficult,  because, 
in  its  earlier  stages  as  a  habit,  it  seems  to  result 
from  diffidence  and  undue  excitement.  It  is  for  this 
reason  very  characteristic  of  women  who  exhort  in 
public.  A  minister  can  rid  himself  of  a  sing-song 
liabit,  if  he  w^ll  begin  before  it  is  inveterate,  by  ask- 
ing his  friends  to  tell  him  when  they  observe  it,  and 
by  having  often  in  mind  the  iiecessity  of  being  on 
his  guard,  in  order  to  secure  natural  cadences.  It 
is  -worth  one's  while  to  be  particular,  for  such  a  tone 
ruins  any  sermon,  and  ultimately  takes  away  every 
pleasing  quality  from  the  voice. 

It  is  more  difficult  to  overcome  those  embarrass- 
ments of  the  voice  which  are  occasioned  by  defec- 
tive acoustic  qualities  in  the  audience-room  of  the 
church.  In  a  very  large  number  of  churches,  it  is 
impossible  to  speak  naturally,  because  it  is  so  hard 
to  be  heard  at  all.  The  preacher  has  to  adopt  a 
hard,  metallic  tone,  to  penetrate  the  alcoves,  recesses, 
and  rafters ;  or  to  overcome  the  echo.  The  old- 
fashioned,  nearly  square  churches,  with  fiat  roof  and 
a  gallery  running  around  three  sides,  seem  to  be  the 


PHYSICAL    CONDITIONS.  145 

easiest  for  speaking,  however  large  they  may  be. 
The  modern  gothic,  especially  if  the  nave  is  long, 
and  the  ceiling  remote,  are  the  worst.  In  such  a 
church  the  ablest  speaker  may  well  despair.*  Some- 
thing may  be  done,  by  stretcliing  a  number  of  fine 
wires  across  the  spaces  where  the  echoes  are,  or  by 
banners  hung  through  the  room,  as  in  one  church 
we  could  name.  It  will  be  better  still,  if  the  trustees 
will  allow  the  pulpit  to  be  moved.  Sometimes  ad- 
vancing it  ten  feet  towards  the  audience,  at  the 
sacrifice  of  a  few  pews,  or  bringing  it  to  one  side 
against  a  pillar,  will  partially  remedy  the  confusion 
of  sounds,  that  otherwise  converts  the  church  into 
a  miniature  cave  of  ^olus.  A  still  better  remedy 
would  be  for  clergymen  to  refuse  to  preach  in  such 
churches,  on  any  condition.  But  this  is  somewhat 
too  heroic  to  be  generally  adopted. 

Perhaps  it  will  occasion  surprise,  if  we  include 
obedience  to  the  Fourth  Commandment  as  among 
the  essential  physical  conditions  of  success  in  the 
ministry.  But  we  are  sorry  to  say  we  have  seen 
the  spirit  of  it  violated,  with  unfortunate  effects,  by 
many  ministers.  The  precept  requires  abstinence 
from  work,  one  day  in  seven.  Now  as  a  minister 
works,  and  works  hard,  of  necessity  on  the  Sabbath, 
it  is  evident  that  he  must  rest  on  another  day,  or  he 
breaks  the  commandment,  essentially.  Monday  is 
usually  the  day  of  rest  for  a  minister.  If  he  keeps 
it,  with  religious  scruples,  abstaining  from  all  of  his 
ordinary  avocations,  it  shall  be  well  with  him,  and 


146  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

his  days  sliall  be  long  in  the  land.  But  how  often 
there  is  a  minister's  meeting,  devoted  to  a  report  of 
the  sermons,  or  a  discussion  of  theological  topics ; 
how  malij  set  apart  the  forenoon  to  their  arrears  of 
correspondence,  and  the  afternoon  to  parish  calls  !' 
Possibly,  a  daily  prayer-meeting  may  claim  their 
leadership  at  noon,  and  a  special  service  be  appointed 
for  the  evening.  Now  all  this  seems  to  us  a  direct 
violation  of  the  principle  of  the  Fourth  Command- 
ment. It  is  morally  blameless,  because  the  motive 
is  the  service  of  God.  But  it  will  be  physically 
punished,  for  the  laws  of  God  are  not  violated  witli 
impunity,  even  from  the  best  of  motives.  Lassitude 
is  sure  to  follow.  In  a  few  weeks  there  will  be  a 
lack  of  energy.  Many  days  will  be  wasted  in  a  fret- 
ful inaction  ;  perhaps,  sickness  may  ensue ;  and  all 
because  the  minister  forgot  that  he  needed  a  Sabbath 
of  rest  as  well  as  the  people. 


XI. 

SPIRITUAL  CONDITIONS. 

Although  we  have  said,  thus  far,  little  con- 
cerning the  spiritual  aspects  and  conditions  ot 
extemporaneous  preaching ;  it  is  not  because  we  con- 
sidered them  of  small  importance,  but  because  we 
preferred  to  treat  each  topic  independently  in  its 
proper  order.  In  all  preaching,  whether  from  notes 
or  extempore,  as  the  object  to  be  secured  is  a  spirit- 
ual one,  the  conversion  and  edification  of  the  peo- 
ple, it  is  evident  that  the  moral  and  spiritual  condi- 
tion of  the  preacher  is  of  unspeakable  importance. 
It  is  the  impartation  of  spiritual  life.  How  can  he 
impart  what  he  does  not  possess  ?  It  is  to  lead  men 
to  Christ.  How  lead  men  where  he  does  not  go 
himself?  It  is  to  prepare  them  for  ''  fellowship  with 
the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,"  which  fellowship 
lie  must  experience  before  he  can  share  it  with 
others. 

The  first  and  most  imperative  duty  of  a  minister 
is  to  keep  clear  the  fountain  of  his  own  piety.  It 
has  been  well  said,  by  some  one,  that  the  vital  prin- 
ciple of  preaching  is  condensed  by  St.  Jude  into  a 
few  lines  ;  "  But  ye,  beloved,  building  up  yourselves, 
on  your  most  holy  faith,  praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 


148  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God."  The  power 
of  a  preacher  lies  in  the  power  of  godliness,  or  what 
is  the  same  thing,  the  power  'of  faith.  The  ancient 
rhetoricians  insisted,  first  of  all,  that  the  orator  mnst 
be  a  good  man,  for  virtue  is  the  secret  of  power  in 
the  speaker.  Much  more  is  this  true  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministr}^,  wliich  has  absolutely  no  excuse  for 
being,  except  it  can  lead  men  to  holiness  and  to 
God.  As  we  have  said,  this  is  needful  for  all  preach- 
ers, but  it  is  most  especially  needful  for  an  extem- 
poraneous preacher,  who  must  rely  for  his  words,  and 
the  best  portion  of  his  thoughts,  upon  the  immediate 
presence  and  assistance  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  fundamental,  spiritual  condition,  then,  of  this 
method  of  preaching,  is  faith.  It  is  not  only  true 
of  the  Christian  life,  that  "  the  just  shall  live  by 
his  faith,"  but  it  is  true  also  that  according  to  tlie 
preacher's  faith  will  be  his  power  and  success.  The 
man  has  evidently  been  with  God  ;  he  has  received 
an  unction  from  the  Holy  One ;  he  has  drawn  nigh 
to  the  mount  in  earnest  prayer  ;  all  his  fortune,  rep- 
utation, influence,  are  cast  upon  the  divine  mercy, 
and  rely  upon  the  divine  help.  What,  after  this, 
does  he  fear  in  the  face  of  mortal  man !  He  enters 
the  pulpit  in  an  exalted  frame.  He  is  not  caring  for 
himself.  His  appearance,  intellectual  ability,  what 
people  will  think  of  him,  are  of  no  further  conse- 
quence. He  is  there,  an  ambassador  from  God.  He 
has  a  message  to  deliver,  and  woe  be  him,  if  it  is 
not  faithfully  delivered.     Like  Samuel  in  the  night, 


SPIRITUAL    CONDITIONS.  149 

he  lias  heard  the  divine  voice,  and  the  words  given 
him  must  be  spoken,  without  fear  or  hesitation. 

This  is  the  old,  prophetic  tire,  rekindled  in  the 
Christian  pnlpit,  and  proving  that  the  modern 
"  schools  of  the  prophets "  are  not  altogether  mis- 
named. It  is  the  prophetic  office  revived  and  regu- 
lated to  meet  the  needs  of  the  Christian  chnrch.  A 
man  of  a  burning,  zealous  faith,  will  inevitably  con- 
vey something  of  his  own  warmth  to  his  hearers. 
They  will  no  longer  stop  to  criticise  his  tones  or 
style ;  they  are  rapt  into  a  higher  atmosphere  of 
spiritual  emotion,  and  are  fed  with  the  manna  given 
for  the  day. 

To  sink  all  thought  of  self  and  its  petty  concerns, 
to  be  indifferent  to  any  fault-finding,  to  be  utterly 
devoted  to  the  spiritual  benefit  of  the  congregation, 
is  a  prime  requisite  for  ability  in  extemporaneous 
speech.  If  the  preacher  lack  many  things  and  have 
this,  he  will  succeed,  in  his  proper  avocation  of 
winning  souls  ;  failing  of  this,  all  other  qualifications 
are  but  sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling  cymbal. 

Next  in  order  of  importance,  and  in  fact  resultant 
from  a  lofty  and  ardent  faith  in  God,  is  that  serene 
courage  which  can  never  be  perturbed,  but  is  so  per- 
fect as  to  be  hardly  conscious  of  itself.  The  preacher 
may  be  a  young  man,  called  to  speak  to  those  who 
are  older  and  more  experienced,  possibly  in  many 
things  wiser  than  himself.  They  are  men  of  busi- 
ness, accustomed  to  deference,  proud  and  self-willed, 
perhaps  wealthy,  and  haughty  in  the  consciousness 

14* 


Lo(;  EXTEMPORE    PHEACHING. 

of  wealth.  But  they  are  sinners,  and  need  -the 
gospel  as  much  as  the  poorest.  They  know  it,  and 
the  minister  knows  it.  He  is  there  to  tell  them  so, 
plainly,  emphatically,  repeatedly.  If  he  dare  do 
this,  if  he  can  do  it  skillfully,  affectionately,  without 
violence  or  personalities,  they  will  respect  him  and 
his  preaching.  If  he  dare  not  do  it,  they  may  ap- 
plaud, but  will  secretly  despise  him. 

Sometimes  it  needs  a  dauntless  heroism  to  face  a 
great  popular  sin,  and  speak  of  its  enormity  in  the 
presence  of  leading  men  who  prefer  that  nothing 
should  be  said  about  it.  It  Avas  their  unquailing 
courage  on  the  question  of  slavery,  which  won  theh- 
influence,  to  many  of  the  great  preachers  of  the  last 
generation.  They  risked  position,  salary,  and  reputa- 
tion, over  and  over  again,  to  declare  unpopular 
ti'uth,  and  though  it  often  aroused  fierce  opposition, 
it  ended  by  giving  them  power  and  fame. 

It  was  their  courage,  more  even  than  their  ability, 
which  gave  the  great  French  preachers,  of  the  time 
of  Louis  XIY,  their  marvelous  hold  on  the  giddy 
population  of  Paris.  When  we  reflect  how  the 
royal  power  had  become  exaggerated,  so  that  all 
men  trembled  before  the  king,  and  did  not  dare  to 
look  above  his  shoe-buckles  ;  how  nobles,  people  and 
clergy,  alike,  joined  in  a  cliorus  of  applause  to  Avliat- 
ever  his  majesty  might  condescend  to  do,  however 
iniquitous  or  tyrannical ;  w^e  can  appreciate  the 
bravery  of  Bourdaloue,  when,  after  preaching  on 
David's  sin  of  adultery,  before  a  crowded  assembly 


SPIKITUAL    CONDITIONS.  151 

of  courtiers,  he  suddenly  "turned  to  Louis  with  the 
thunderbolt,  ''  Thou  art  the  man  "  ! 

Equally  courageous,  though  in  a  slightly  different 
wa}^,  was  the  celebrated  exordium  to  the  funeral  ad- 
dress by  Massillon.  The  Great  King  was  now  dead  ; 
"Louis  le  Grand,"  as  he  had  proudly  termed  him- 
self. His  nobles,  relatives,  ambassadors,  officers, — a 
tearful  and  excited  concourse, — had  gathered  to  the 
imposing  obsequies  in  the  cathedral.  The  preacher 
ascended  the  pulpit,  all  eyes  upon  him.  He  gazed 
upon  the  mortal  remains  of  so  much  splendor  and 
power,  and  then  upon  the  assembly,  hushed  in  eager 
expectation  of  his  opening  words.  They  were, 
''  God  alone  is  great,  my  brethren  ; "  simj)le  words, 
an  obvious  and  commonplace  truth,  but  it  demanded 
a  high  order  of  courage  to  speak  them,  then  and  there. 
The  speaker  who  does  not  fear  shall  stand  before 
kings.  Having  command  of  himself,  his  own  fears, 
prejudices,  ambitions,  he  may  command  others,  and 
bow^  their  hearts  as  the  wind  bends  the  forest  trees. 

It  is  not  necessary,  however,  often  to  show  one's 
courage  by  an  attack  on  individuals.  While  we 
commend  the  courage  of  Bourdaloue  in  the  instance 
mentioned  above,  it  is  a  question  whether  he  did  not 
violate  good  taste  in  publicly  reproving  the  King. 
He  might  have  drawn  a  picture  of  the  sin  of  adultery 
so  clearly  that  the  application  would  have  been  evi- 
dent, and  have  reserved  his  personal  rebuke  for  the 
royal  closet.  There  may  have  been,  however,  excep- 
tional reasons  in  that  case  for  his  very  unusual  per- 


152  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

sonality.  But  it  is  evident  that  in  any  ordinary 
pulpit  sucli  direct  references  to  a  person  in  the 
audience  or  elsewhere  are  uncalled  for  and  unwise. 
So  far  from  exemplifying  the  preacher's  courage, 
they  merely  exhibit  his  reckless  unfairness;  for  he 
attacks  men  where  they  are  not  allowed  to  answer 
him  or  justify  themselves.  If  he  wishes  to  reprove; 
personally,  a  liquor-dealer,  or  quack-doctor,  or  Wall 
street  speculator,  or  crafty  railroad  manipulator,  he 
may  show  equal  courage  and  greater  wisdom  by  a 
quiet  remonstrance  in  private  than  by,  however  fierce, 
a  public  assault.  Such  assaults  do  little  good,  but, 
rather  harm.  An  ignorant  and  excitable  constit- 
uency may  cheer  them,  but  rather  from  envy  of 
prosperous  men  than  from  a  just  abhorrence  of  tlieir 
sins.  The  preacher  properly  deals  with  classes,  not 
with  individuals.  His  admonitions  should  be  directed 
to  all,  not  to  any  one  man,  exclusive  of  the  rest.  Let 
him  so  speak  as  condemning  sin,  describing  the  va- 
rious kinds  of  sins  clearly,  condemning  the  subter- 
fuges of  conscience  by  which  it  would  avoid  the  di- 
vine law ;  and  the  personal  application  may  safely 
be  left  to  the  hearer.  It  will  be  all  the  sharper  if 
he  makes  it  himself. 

Another  moral  quality  of  highest  importance 
flows  from  a  sincere  faith,  and  that  is  perseverance. 
If  it  were  the  cause  of  man  he  advocates,  he  might 
well  be  discouraged,  should  there  be-  few  apparent 
results.  If  it  is  God's  cause  he  pleads,  he  may  be 
confident  that  God  will  attend  to  his  own  work,  and 


SPIRITUAL    CONDITIONS.  153 

prosper  the  seed  that  has  been  ])rayerfiillj  sown.  In 
one  sense  the  preacher  should  look  for  immediate  re- 
sults. That  is,  he  ought  greatly  to  desire  them,  and 
do  his  utmost  to  secure  them.  It  is  a  good  plan  oc- 
casionally^ to  invite  all  who  may  be  willing  to  begin 
the  Christian  life  to  give  a  public  indication  of  it  in 
^ome  way,  or  to  appoint  an  inquiry  meeting  which 
they  are  urged  to  attend.  But,  having  done  so,  the 
preacher,  if  a  man  of  faith,  will  not  fall  into  a  pet 
or  be  disheartened  if  no  inquirers  appear.  One  ser- 
mon does  very  little  apparent  good  as  a  general  rule, 
but  a  hundred  sermons  will  accomplish  something, 
and  each  one  did  its  share. 

A  sermon  should  be  one  movement  in  a  great 
campaign.  It  is  part  of  a  long  series  of  moral  im- 
pressions which  the  pastor  is  seeking  to  make  upon 
the  community,  and  he  can  afford  to  wait  for  the 
finished  results.  Nothing  more  illustrates  the  divine 
origin  of  Christ's  teaching  than  the  calmness  with 
wdiich  he  utters  the  truth  and  then  leaves  it  to  make 
its  own  impression.  It  is  the  heavenly  seed  scattered 
through  the  world.  Some  will,  it  is  true,  be  de- 
voured of  fowls,  some  choked  by  thorns  or  with- 
ered on  the  stony  ground,  but  the  balance  is 
sure  to  bring  forth  its  appointed  harvest.  He  did 
not  ask  all  that  were  impressed  to  '^stand  up"  imme- 
diately, or  come  forward  to  an  anxious  seat.  He 
rather  repressed  the  outward  manifestations  of  zeal, 
and  bade  those  who  were  helped  by  him  to  ''tell  no 


154  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

It  is  related  in  the  life  of  a  very  successful  pastor, 
that  upon  entering  a  new  parish  he,  from  the  first 
day,  "  preached  for  a  revival."  He  did  not  expect 
it  from  the  first  sermon,  or  score  of  sermons.  He 
knew  that  a  man  must  sow  before  he  can  reap.  But 
he  persevered  until  in  one  or  two  years  the  revival 
came. 

That  preacher  will  exert  a  benign  influence  who, 
like  Moses  descending  from  Sinai,  has  manifestly 
come  to  the  people  from  the  serene  heights  of  com- 
munion with  God.  The  spiritual  preparation  is  of 
greater  consequence  than  the  intellectual  one.  Prayer 
is  the. secret  re-enforcement  of  the  preacher's  faith, 
which  God  will  recompense  with  an  open  reward. 
Having  talked  face  to  face  with  God,  he  will  not  be 
much  disconcerted  in  talking  with  men.  And  not 
only  does  secret  prayer  create  a  calm  and  holy  con- 
fidence in  his  own  mind,  it  puts  a  winsome  quality 
into  his  manner,  and  a  sweetness  into  his  words, 
which  gives  them  entrance  to  the  popular  heart. 

It  is  a  not  unfrequent  experience  with  a  minister 
in  actual  service  that  he  must  enter  upon  the  sacred 
work  of  the  Sabbath  suffering  from  depression,  caused 
by  anxieties  and  cares  of  various  kinds.  There  are 
financial  difficulties  in  the  church,  or  opposition  to 
him  has  begun  to  appear,  and  harsh  criticisms  have 
been  reported  from  some  of  his  principal  supporters, 
or  there  has  been  sickness  and  death  in  the  parish, 
making  a  severe  drain  upon  his  sympathies.  What 
to  do  under  these  discouragements  ?     Trust  God,  and 


SPIKITUAL    CONDITIONS.  155 

do  his  duty  as  best  he  can,  saying  nothing  publicly 
of  his  }3nvate  griefs.  Preach  the  Gospel  with  all 
the  more  fervor,  knowing  that  he  is  the  serv^ant  of 
God,  rather  than  of  men.  They  called  the  master 
Beelzebub  ;  it  is  of  little  consequence  what  they 
call  the  disciples.  And  his  God  shall  make  him  to 
stand  under  whatever  discouragements  and  reverses. 
There  is,  at  times,  a  kind  of  atmospheric  influence 
abroad  among  the  congregation,  of  material  assist- 
ance to  extempore  preaching ;  so  much  so  that  nearly 
all  ministers  attempt  it  then,  though  they  may  never 
have  done  so  before.  We  mean,  of  course,  the  at- 
mosphere of  a  revival.  The  Holy  Ghost  has  de- 
scended upon  the  city,  because  the  Lord  Jesus  has 
much  people  there,  and  the  time  of  their  ingathering 
has  come.  The  churches  are,  all  at  once,  filled  to 
overflowing  ;  the  week-day  services  are  well  attended. 
Abundant  and  heartfelt  prayer  ascends  from  every 
private  oratory,  from  every  family  altar,  from  every 
thronged  prayer-meeting.  The  people  are  aroused, 
attentive,  sympathetic.  They  desire  the  plainest 
truth,  stated  in  the  most  unadorned  fashion.  The 
mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  the  way  of  repentance,  the 
path  to  the  cross,  the  new  life  of  faith  and  hope,  is 
what  they  wish  to  hear  of.  These  are  topics  near 
to  the  heart  of  every  zealous  pastor,  and  he  is  for- 
ward to  speak  of  them,  earnestly  and  fully.  'No  one 
thinks  at  such  a  time  of  the  intellectual  caliber  of 
the  discourses,  their  learned  allusions  and  brilliant 
metaphors.     The  points  demanding  attention  are  far 


l.ie  EXTEMFORK    IMiEACniXG. 

profoiinder,  and  take  hold  on  eternal  life.  Under 
tliese  circnmstances  any  minister  preaches  fluently. 
No  longer  conscious  of  self,  in  its  vanities  and  defi- 
ciencies, his  object  is  to  bring  souls  to  Clirist  by  the 
nearest  and  straiglitestroad.  Burning  words,  carry- 
ing conviction,  flow  unpremeditated  from  his  earnest 
lips.  It  is  the  tongue  of  Are,  lighting  and  warming 
the  sanctuary.  Such  days  are  sacred,  marked  white 
in  tlie  preacher's  remembrance. 

Says  President  Humphrey  in  a  letter  to  his  son, 
speaking  of  a  revival,  "  You  cannot  expect  much 
time  to  write,  it  is  true  ;  nor  will  it  be  necessary.  It 
will  astonisli  you  to  And  with  what  freedom  you  can 
speak  on  ahnost  any  subject  at  the  sliortest  notice. 
Thoughts  and  w^ords  will  coirie  to  you  as  they  never 
did  before."  .  .  . 

But  such  occasions  must  be,  in  the  very  nature  of 
tlie  case,  exceptionah  Men  will  not  remain  long  in 
an  aroused  and  excited  condition,  no  matter  how 
genuine  the  work  of  grace  may  be.  After  the  freshet 
the  stream  returns  to  its  ordinary  channel.  The  re- 
vival is  gone  and  the  plodding,  difficult  work  remains 
of  gathering  u])  and  securing  the  fruits.  Then  comes 
the  trial  of  tlie  preacher's  faith  and  zeal.  Can  he 
speak  for  God  as  boldly  and  plainly,  on  a  quiet  Sun- 
day evening  in  June,  as  he  did  during  the  glorious 
meetings  that  followed  the  week  of  prayer  ?  Is  it 
possible  to  preserve  a  trained  and  veteran  fervor  the 
year  througli  and  always  be  eager  to  gather  souls 
into  the  Kingdom  'i     Then    the  power  of  glowing 


SriK'ITUAL    CONDITIONS.  157 

Speech  that  marked  his  discourses  during  the  revival 
maj  coutinue  witli  him  the  year  arouud. 

But,  if  a  minister  cannot  always  be  at  his  best,  he 
can  always  speak  earnestly  to  the  people,  in  grave 
and  serious  words  that  shall  be  for  edification  ;  and 
however  deficient  in  preparation,  or  in  facility  of  ex- 
pression the  discourse  may  be,  he  has  no  need  to 
apologize  for  it,  seeing  he  has  done  his  best.  Indeed, 
of  all  poor  methods  tliat  have  been  invented  for  in- 
troducing a  sermon,  in  our  opinion,  an  ai)()logy  is  the 
worst.  It  is  an  obtrusion  of  self,  when  quite  other 
considerations  should  be  prominent.  What  differ- 
ence does  it  make  to  the  audience,  if  the  speaker 
has  a  cold,  or  lias  been  sick,  or  too  busy  to  study,  or 
away  from  his  books  'i  If  really  unprepared  he 
Avould  better  decline  to  speak.  At  least,  he  could 
read  an  old  sermon. 

But  an  apology  usually  means  tJiat  the  speaker 
has  not  been  able  to  prepare  so  fine  an  oration  as  he 
could  wish,  and  the  motive  of  it  is  easily  seen  to  be 
vanity.  Suppose  he  has  had  no  especial  time  or 
strength  for  arranging  that  particular  discourse  ; 
still,  he  is  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  doing  his  Mas- 
ter's work  ;  he  has  the  preparation  of  all  his  previous 
years  of  study,  and  the  skill  acquired  in  speaking  a 
thousand  times.  If  he  cannot  now  rise  and  address 
an  audience  of  his  fellow-sinners  for  half  an  hour, 
in  a  manner  suitable  to  their  improvement,  there 
must  have  been  some  grave  defect,  either  in  his 
training,  or  in  his  conception  of  what  a  sermon 
shouhl  be. 


158  EXTEMPORE  PREACHING. 

Besides,  an  apology  calls  attention  beforehand  to 
the  anticipated  iDOverty  of  the  address.  All  the 
critical  people  are  put  npon  the  alert,  to  see  how 
poor  it  will  he.  Tliey  are  forewarned  to  expect  a 
failure,  and  will  naturally  pride  tlieniselves  on  find- 
ing it.  If  nothing  in  derogation  had  been  said  by 
the  preacher,  they  might  liave  gone  home  thinking  it 
one  of  his  best  sermons;  and  it  may  easily  turn  out 
to  be  better  than  he  had  expected.  The  great  bulk  of 
the  congregation,  who  come,  not  to  be  amused,  or  to 
glorify  the  minister,  but  to  be  edified  and  strength- 
ened by  a  solemn  service,  will  for  the  most  part 
think  nothing  about  tlie  intellectual  quality  of  the 
sermon,  unless  it  is  suggested  to  them  by  the 
preacher  himself.  They  will  be  occupied  by  the 
serious  and  important  thoughts,  or  moved  by  his 
ardor  for  their  salvation.  An  apology,  therefore,  is 
w^orse  than  useless,  for  it  calls  attention  to  defects 
that  otherwise  might  escape  unnoticed. 

When  speaking  of  the  voice,  we  mentioned  the 
value  of  sympatlietic  emotion,  in  imparting  to  it  a 
tender  and  persuasive  quality.  Tlie  effect  of  sym- 
pathy is  not  seen  in  the  voice  alone,  but  in  the  choice 
of  arguments  and  the  whole  tone  of  the  sermon. 
Sympathy  is  a  fellow-feeling  for  the  joys  and  sorrows 
of  men.  It  enables  the  preacher  to  put  himself  in 
their  place  for  the  time,  and  feel  as  they  do  It  gives 
a  knowledge  of  human  nature,  invaluable  to  one  who 
wishes  to  mold  the  passions  and  characters  of  his 
audience.  It  is  said  of  Jesus  that  "  he  knew  what 
was  in  man."     This  gave  him  power  to  anticipate 


SPIRITUAL    CONDITIONS.  159 

their  thoughts  and  adapt  his  teaching  to  their  inmost 
needs.  While  we  cannot  hope  to  know  men  perfectly, 
as  he  did,  we  may  cultivate,  to  an  indehnite  degree,  a 
perception  of  their  emotions,  partly  by  a  habit  of 
observation,  partly  by  looking  into  our  own  lieart. 
Human  hearts  answer  to  each  other  as  faces  are  re- 
flected from  a  mirror.  The  same  hopes,  fears, 
temptations,  ambitions,  are  in  all,  but  combined  in 
different  degrees.  A  sympathetic  preacher  seems  to 
his  hearers  to  be  giving  eloquent  expression  to  their 
own  ideas.  They  go  away  saying  :  it  was  just  what 
they  had  always  thought.  They  are  interested  and 
excited  because  he  appears  to  say  exactly  what  they 
would  have  said  in  his  place.  He  holds  up  the  mir- 
ror before  each  man,  and  all  recognize  their  portrait. 
The  secret  of  it  is,  that  he  has  first  looked  into  his 
own  heart  and  described  what  he  saw  there. 

Sympathy  with  the  people,  if  genuine,  will  give 
to  the  preacher,  what  many  ministers  sorely  need, 
namely,  tact.  By  this  quality  men  are  able  to  deal 
with  each  other  and  accomplish  their  ends  without 
friction  or  irritation.  It  is  a  great  advantage  in  all 
relations  of  life,  but  especially  to  a  clergyman.  So 
many  sore  and  sensitive  hearts  are  in  his  keeping, 
needing  the  consolations  of  the  gospel ;  so  many 
wayward  and  impetuous  youth,  that  may  be  won  by 
kindness  and  are  sure  to  be  repelled  by  harshness ; 
so  many  conflicting  interests  in  the  church  to  be 
reconciled,  until  the  most  contradictory  people  are 
brought  to  live  together  as  one  happy  family  ;  peo- 
ple grasping  and  avaricious  that  are  to  be  gently 


160  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

persuaded  to  part  with  their  dearly-loved  wealth ; 
the  terrors  of  the  law  to  be  faithfully  declared,  with- 
out driving  the  sinner  to  indiiference  or  despair:  re- 
sponsibilities such  as  these  tempt  him  to  cry  ''Who 
is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  "  But  tact  can  accom- 
plish it,  and  does,  every  day.  Tact  is  the  outward 
expression  of  the  love  and  sympathy  with  which  his 
soul  is  filled.  He  is  sensitive  of  hurting  their  feel- 
ings unnecessarily.  He  knows  what  things  are  likely 
to  hurt,  for  his  own  nerves  are  sensitive  and  he  can 
appreciate  the  suffering  of  others.  Some  men  are 
like  a  rhinoceros,  tough  of  hide,  heavy  of  foot,  and 
with  a  strong  horn  for  stirring  up  things.  They  go 
through  life  trampling  on  tender  and  suffering  hearts. 
If  there  is  any  possible  way  of  creating  trouble,  they 
are  sure  to  fall  upon  it.  Pachydermatous  them- 
selves, they  cannot  realize  the  sensitiveness  of  others. 
It  is  terrible  to  see  such  men  in  the  pastorate.  They 
alienate  more  souls  than  they  win.  But  the  delicate 
tact,  of  such  a  man  as  Dr.  Nettleton,  for  example, 
attracts  thousands  into  the  kingdom  ;  and  the  mem- 
ory of  it  lingers,  like  a  delicate  perfume,  for  a  score 
of  years. 

Thus,  the  necessary  spiritual  condition  of  success 
is  seen  to  be  a  faith  that  first  of  all  unites  the 
speaker's  soul  to  God  in  a  living  and  vital  bond. 
Faith  bestows  courage,  perseverance,  and  sympa- 
thetic tact  in  dealing  with  others,  and  renders  the 
man  of  God  fit  for  all  good  works.  The  constant 
prayer  of  all  earnest  ministers  should  be,  "  Lord, 
increase  our  faith." 


XII. 

EEPEATING. 

It  is  sometimes  adduced,  as  an  objection  to  this 
method  of  preaching,  that  the  labor  expended  on  a 
sermon  is  lost,  after  it  is  once  delivered,  and  that  it 
is  as  much  work  to  recall  and  repeat  a  discourse  the 
second  time,  as  was  required  for  the  Urst.  Such  has 
not  been  the  writer's  experience.  A  sermon  once 
well  wrought  out  becomes,  on  the  contrary,  a  pos- 
session for  life.  If  it  be  on  a  solid  subject  that  will 
bear  to  be  preached  on  again  and  again ;  if  the 
argument  be  developed  with  care,  the  scriptural 
proofs.are  adequate,  and  the  illustrations  signihcant; 
it  is  as  easy  to  preach  it  again  after  twenty  years,  as 
it  was  the  first  week.  The  substantial  thought,  in 
all  its  ramifications,  is  indicated  on  the  brief,  and  a 
simple  re-reading  of  the  latter  brings  it  all  back  to 
the  mind.  The  only  new  thing  to  be  supplied  is  the 
language,  which  is  all  the  better  for  being  fresh,  and 
after  so  many  years  of  practice  comes  without  con- 
scious effort.  It  is  necessary,  however,  that  the 
mind  should  be  in  an  active  and  fertile  condition, 
and  the  studies  kept  up  continuously,  or  the  old 
brief  will  seem  to  be  but  a  collection  of  dry  bones. 
There  is  no  place  for  indolence  or  sluggishness  in  ex- 

15* 


1G2  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

tempore  preaching,  either  at  the  beginning  or  after- 
wards. 

It  is,  however,  seldom  found  to  be  advisable  to 
preach  a  sermon  exactly  as  before-.  In  all  proba- 
bility, if  the  speaker  is  a  student,  he  has  learned  some- 
thing in  twenty  years.  His  views  of  truth  are 
modified.  His  knowledge  of  men  and  affairs  is 
ampler.  The  old  sermon,  as  it  is,  will  no  longer 
content  him.  But  it  is  easy  to  alter  and  correct  the 
brief,  so  as  to  bring  the  discourse  up  to  his  present 
standard.  Some  heads  will  be  changed,  some 
thrown  out  and  others  substituted.  Generally  it 
will  be  found  that  the  divisions  liave  expanded  so 
that  fewer  are  required.  Above  all,  it  will  be  wise 
to  change  the  illustrations,  so  many  at  least  as  were 
pertinent  to  passing  events,  as  the  best  ones  are  apt 
to  be. 

A  sermon  preached,  for  example,  during  the  war 
naturally  contained  several  references  to  the  army, 
allusions  to  recent  victoi-ies  or  defeats,  to  the  state  of 
the  campaign,  or  to  the  feelings  of  those  in  the  con- 
gregation whose  friends  were  at  the  front.  Ten  or 
twenty  years  later  these  illustrations  were  no  longer 
apposite.  They  would  then  be  lieard  with  impa- 
tience as  belonging  to  something  entirely  gone  by. 
But  with  a  little  pains  they  can  all  be  changed  for 
something  more  recent.  The  same  great  principles 
are  as  well  illustrated  by  what  happens  to-day  as  by 
what  occurred  a  score  of  years  ago,  and  it  is  easy  to 
make  the  substitution.     Tlie  sermon  will   thns  gain 


REPKATING.  163 

immensely  in  interest  and  in  applicability  to  tlie 
needs  of  the  people. 

In  fact,  here  is  one  advantage  of  the  unwritten 
above  the  written  sermon.  Changes  can  be  made  in 
it  more  easily.  A  written  discourse  a  few  years  old 
is  pervaded  by  the  tone  of  feeling  prevalent  wdien  it 
was  composed.  Every  paragraph  is  redolent  of  the 
state  of  the  church,  or  the  condition  of  business, 
whether  hopeful  or  depressed,  or  of  the  preacher's 
own  feelings,  if  it  was  a  timely  discourse,  and  not  a 
mere  abstract  discussion.  Now  tliis  pervading  tone 
can  be  altered  with  some  pains,  l)ut  it  is  more  labor 
than  it  would  be  to  nuike  equal  changes  in  an  un- 
written sermon.  A  day  spent  on  tlie  latter,  or  even 
an  hour,  if  haste  is  necessary,  will  so  alter  its  form, 
while  preserving  the  substance,  that  nobody  will 
imagine  he  had  ever  heard  it  before.  Indeed,  no- 
body has  heard  it,  for  it  is  essentially  a  new^  sermon, 
although  the  skeleton  is  old  ;  like  an  old  house  recon- 
structed and  repainted  until  the  neighbors  hardly 
recognize  it  for  the  same. 

The  objection  may  l)e  raised  here  that  such  recast- 
ing of  sermons  involves  so  much  labor  that  it  might 
be  as  well  to  create  new  ones  instead.  But,  as  it 
seems  to  us,  the  labor  is  far  more  economically  be- 
stowed in  the  former  case  than  in  the  latter.  There 
may  be  as  much  labor  involved;  there  should  be  as 
much  labor  as  the  preacher  has  time  and  strength  to 
give.  But  if  expended  on  a  discourse  that  has  been 
preaclied  once  or  twice  before,  the  same  amount  of% 


164  extempore:  preaching. 

work  will  produce  far  more  finished  and  satisfactory 
results.  The  mind  works  more  easily  in  accustomed 
grooves.  A  sermon,  once  delivered  and  laid  aside, 
becomes,  as  it  were,  something  objective  to  the  au- 
thor of  it.  It  is  a  veritable  substance  thrown  off  and 
for  the  time  forgotten.  When  taken  up  for  criticism 
some  years  later  the  preacher  can  regard  it  with 
somewhat  of  the  impartiality  of  a  stranger.  He  can 
perceive  how  it  would  strike  an  audience  better  than 
he  possibly  could  while  it  was  warm  from  the  first 
forging.  The  whole  can  now  be  re-studied  and  made 
more  accurate,  broad,  and  complete  in  every  way. 
With  the  same  amount  of  effort  required  in  the  pro- 
duction of  a  new  sermon,  the  old  one  can  be  made 
into  a  much  better  sermon  than  the  new  one 
would  be. 

Our  advice  is  to  recast  the  best  sermons  as  often  as 
once  in  seven  or  eight  years,  not  intermitting  the 
production  of  new  ones  meanwhile,  but  making  un- 
remitted efforts  to  have  the  old  ones  as  perfect  as 
possible.  Every  time  the  sermon  is  recast  in  this 
way  it  becomes  more  an  integral  expression  of  the 
idea,  simple  and  strong  in  outline,  perspicuous  in  its 
language,  telling  in  its  illustrations.  It  is  thus  easier 
for  the  minister  to  preacli  and  pleasanter  for  the 
people  to  hear. 

It  may    be    that   the  changes  made   are   merely 

formal  ones,    expressing   more   perfectly   the   same 

thoughts  as  before.     But  it  is  quite  as  likely  that  the 

I' alterations  will  be.  essential  ones  in  the  very  structure 


KEPEATINd.  165 

and  bearing  of  the  discourse.  In  •either  case  the 
sermon  will  be  improved  by  revision  after  an  inter- 
val of  time  has  elapsed  since  it  was  first  made. 

It  is  stated  in  the  life  of  a  famous  American  clergy- 
man of  the  last  generation  that  he  had  written 
about  six  thousand  sermons  during  a  ministry  of 
sixty  years.  Witli  all  respect  to  such  a  venerable 
example,  it  seems  that  the  labor  would  have  been 
more  economically  laid  out  in  rewriting  each  of  one 
thousand  sermons  six  times  over.  Granting  that  he 
wished  to  do  so  much  work,  a  sermon  six  times  recast 
is  likely  to  be  better  than  a  sermon  written  but  once. 
Probably,  however,  in  this  case  the  sermons,  although 
from  a  new  text,  were  the  same  old  thoughts  in  a 
new  dress,  for  no  man  has  ideas  enough  to  fill  out 
six  thousand  absolutely  distinct  sermons. 

It  is  important,  therefore,  to  preserve  carefully  an 
outline  of  every  sermon  that  a  minister  has  preached 
for  future  revision  and  repetition.  It  is  wise  also  to 
preserve  a  brief  even  of  prayer-meeting  addresses, 
funeral  remarks,  and  talks  to  children.  The  intel- 
lect is  not  always  creative  of  new  thought.  Good 
material  should  never  be  thrown  away.  Once  pro- 
duced it  should  be  kept  for  a  life-time.  It  is  the 
only  way  in  which  the  preacher  can  accumulate  capi- 
tal which  will  allow  time  for  doing  other  kinds  of 
work  in  after  years,  by  rendering  easier  the  ordinary 
duties  of  his  profession. 

A  frequent  examination  of  the  packages  of  briefs, 
whether  of  sermons  or  prayer-meeting  talks,  taken 
by  yearly  periods,  will  serve  a  useful  purpose  by 


166  p^XTEMPORK  prp;aching, 

showing  tlie  preacher  what  lias  been  tlie  general 
course  of  his  sermonizing.  Has  he  accorded  a  due 
proportion  of  time  to  tlie  great  themes  of  the  faith, 
or  has  he  wandered  into  subordinate  and  less  impor- 
tant discussions  ?  Has  he  j^i'eached  much  about 
Christ  'i  Has  he  often  sought  directly  for  the  con- 
version of  men  ?  Have  the  divine  attributes  been 
held  up,  that  men  might  fear  and  love  the  living  God? 
Such  questions  as  these  often  and  anxiously  asked  by 
every  zealous  minister,  are  easily  answered  by  look- 
ing over  the  little  bundle  of  sermon  briefs  pertaining 
to  the  year.  They  show  in  a  moment  wl^at  he  has 
been  doing,  and  enable  him  to  supply  deficiencies, 
that  the  entire  substance  of  his  teaching  may  become 
more  symmetrical  with  the  solid  substance  of 
the  Gospel.  In  the  idiosyncracies  of  any  mind, 
there  is  danger  of  undue  emphasis  upon  certain  parts 
of  the  divine  messap^e  to  the  harmful  neo^lect  of  the 
rest.  This  tendency  may  be  corrected  by  a  frequent 
review  of  the  topics  that  have  been  preached  upon, 
forcibly  reminding  the  preacher  of  what  may  be  in 
excess. 

It  is  not,  however,  to  be  hastily  concluded  that  a 
minister  fails  of  his  duty  because  certain  aspects  of 
the  truth  recur  to  him  frequently,  and  are  more 
willingly  preached  upon,  than  others.  He  may  have 
been  divinely  appointed  to  that  very  end,  that  some 
neglected  truth  may  be  rescued  from  oblivion  and 
forced  anew  upon  the  attention  of  a  reluctant  gen- 
eration. If  any  one  is  curious  in  the  matter,  he  can 
easily   satisfy   himself  by  an  examination  of  ^their 


REPEATING.  167 

published  sermons,  that  the  great  preachers  have 
preferred  to  work  over  incessantly  a  few  leading 
ideas,  rather  than  to  search  for  novel  ones.  At 
least,  it  is  (piite  characteristic  of  them  to  do  so. 
Their  originality  consisted  in  stating  and  fully  apply- 
ing two  or  three  great  principles,  or  sometimes  a 
single  one.  Their  power  was  immensely  increased 
by  the  ease  and  effectiveness  with  which  they 
handled  themes,  tliat  set  their  own  souls  on  fire,  and 
which  they  liad  spoken  of  many  times  before.  With 
one  it  was  the  sovereignty  of  God,  with  another  jus- 
tification by  faith ;  the  divine  sympathy  shown 
through  Christ,  "  the  soul  of  goodness  in  things 
evil,"  the  reformatory  power  of  the  gospel  on  human 
society,  have  each  been  leading  ideas  with  great  and 
powerful  preachers.  Some  owe  their  startling- 
energy  to  the  direct  appeal,  never  omitted,  for  im- 
mediate repentance  and  conversion.  Others  have 
almost  always  fallen  into  the  tone  of  tender  and 
pathetic  emotion.  Others  deal  in  practical  applica- 
tions of  the  gospel  to  works  of  charity  or  social  con- 
duct. Probably  this  constant  repetition  of  a  few 
great  thoughts  was  the  necessity  of  their  mental 
action.  The  thoughts  had  been  so  impressed  upon 
their  own  spiritual  experience,  that  they  seemed  to 
be  the  chief  part  of  the  gospel. 

The  young  preacher  need  not  be  afraid,  then,  of 
the  charge  that  he  is  repeating  himself.  Repeat 
himself,  he  certainly  will,  in  any  event;  for  no 
mind  can  pour  forth  absolutely  new  matter  for  a  term 
of  years.     But  there  is  less  objection  to  tlie  repeti- 


16S  EXTEMPOE?:    rKEAOFIlNG. 

tion,  if  wliat  he  repeats  is  intrinsically  important, 
one  of  the  great  and  significant  principles  of  the 
faith. 

But  the  most  famous  preachers  have  not  only  re- 
peated constantly  a  few  great  thoughts.  Many  of 
them  were  not  ashamed  to  repeat  precisely  the  same 
sermon.  So  much  was  tliis  the  case  with  the  French 
preachers,  that  it  gave  occasion  to  an  oft-quoted  say- 
ing of  Louis  XIY,  that  "  lie  would  rather  hear  the 
repetitions  of  Bon rd alone  than  the  novelties  of  other 
men."  This  was  w^ell  know^n  to  be  the  habit  of  White- 
field  ;  "  Foote  and  Garrick  maintained  that  his  ora- 
tory was  not  at  its  full  height,  until  lie  had  repeated 
a  discourse  forty  times."  Franklin  said  of  the  same 
great  orator,  "  By  hearing  him  often,  I  came  to  dis- 
tinguish easily  between  sermons  newly  composed, 
and  those  he  had  preached  often  in  the  course  of  his 
travels.  His  delivery  of  the  latter  was  so  im23roved 
by  frequent  repetition,  that  every  accent,  every  em- 
phasis, every  modulation  of  voice  was  so  perfectly 
tuned,  that  one  could  not  help  being  pleased  with 
the  discourse."  Says  Dr.  Southey,  it  was  a  great 
advantage  that  he  could  alter  the  sermons  with  each 
new  delivery  ;  "  those  parts  were  omitted  which  had 
been  felt  to  come  feebly  from  the  tongue,  and  fall 
hea^ly  on  the  ear;  and  their  place  was  supplied 
by  matter  newly  laid  in,  in  the  course  of  his  studies, 
or  fresh  from  the  feeling  of  the  moment.  The  salient 
points  of  his  oratory  were  not  ])repared  passages — 
they  were  bursts  of  passion,  like  jets  of  a  geyser, 
when  the  spring  is  in  full  play." 


REPEATING.  ]  69 

These  passages  taken  from  Philip's  life  of  White- 
field  prove  sufficiently  his  habit  of  repeating  favorite 
sermons.  He  could  do^  this  more  easily,  as  he  was 
constantly  meeting  new  audiences  on  his  travels  ; 
an  advantage  which  a  settled  pastor  does  not  have. 
But  they  prove  also  that  Whitefield  was  not  con- 
tent with  a  parrot-like  repetition.  Although 
the  sermon  had  been  written  at  first,  it  was  con- 
stantly  changed  on  delivery,  to  suit  the  changed  con- 
ditions of  the  audience,  or  the  altered  mood  of  the 
speaker.  He  was  entirely  independent  of  the  man- 
uscript, and  although  his  preparations  had  been  as 
elaborate  as  possible,  he  spoke  at  last,  under  the  im- 
pulse of  the  moment. 

One  of  Dr.  Chalmer's  admirers  liumorously  re- 
ports that  on  a  certain  occasion  he  was  edified  by 
hearing  a  sermon,  which  the  doctor  had  preached 
several  times  before.  Dr.  Dewey,  in  his  recently- 
published  autobiography,  says  that  he  had  preached 
all  of  liis  sermons  five  times  over  before  leaving  !New 
Bedford,  and  had  ''  preached  tliem  to  death  "  during 
his  pastorate  in  New  York.  Perhaps  tliis  was  one 
secret  of  the  wonderful  charm  said  to  have  been 
found  in  his  preaching. 

Probably  in  all  these  cases,  while  the  sermon  was 
repeated,  in  its  essential  features,  there  had  been  in- 
troduced many  modifications,  to  match  the  new  occa- 
sion. The  illustrations  miglit  be  varied,  or  the  ap- 
plication changed.  "Wliat  was  before  a  topic  of  con- 
solation, might  now  become  a  source  of  admonition ; 


170  EXTEMPORE    PREACHING. 

or  if  previously  applied  to  individuals,  it  iniglit  take 
a  broader  outlook,  contemplating  the  church  or  the 
nation. 

It  serves  a  useful  purpose,  also,  to  vary  the  mode 
of  preparation,  in  a  sermon  which  is  to  be  repeated. 
For  example,  if  it  was  written  before,  it  may  be 
recast  as  an  extemporaneous  sermon,  or  an  extem- 
poraneous sermon  may  be  afterwards  written  out 
carefully.  Each  of  these  methods  involves  very 
considerable  changes  in  the  sermon.  It  will  proba- 
bly be  improved  by  the  revision,  in  either  case. 
Working  over  the  thought  from  a  new  point  of  view, 
or  with  new  materials,  or  with  additional  labor, 
clarifies  it,  and  increases  its  vigor. 

Recasting  sermons  in  this  way  conduces,  more- 
over, to  one  quality  of  style  peculiarly  important  to 
a  speaker,  namely,  to  perspicuity.  Having  recast 
the  same  discourse  four  or  five  times,  which  will 
necessitate  the  going  over  it  in  his  thoughts,  at  least 
twenty  times,  at  long  intervals,  the  whole  subject 
has  grown  to  be  lucid  and  definite  to  the  mind. 
The  preacher  knows  exactly  what  he  would  say. 
He  has  said  it  to  himself  a  score  of  times,  in  a 
variety  of  expressions.  He  now  sees  clearly  the  end 
from  the  beginning,  and  the  interdependence  of 
every  part.  His  sentences  will  take,  finally,  an  al- 
most proverbial  form  from  much  attrition.  His 
style  will  become  pellucid  as  a  mountain  brook, 
through  which  his  ideas  show  like  rounded  pebbles 
on  the  bottom. 


